


Joanna McCoy's Week In Space

by julidoesnotwrites (notjuli)



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: (but not how you expect), (but not really), (kinda), Birthday, Birthday Party, Cheff Spock, Chess, Established Relationship, Family, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, Food, Gen, Genius James T. Kirk, Kid Fic, M/M, Mind Meld, Minor Christine Chapel/Nyota Uhura, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Picnics, T'hy'la
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28796337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjuli/pseuds/julidoesnotwrites
Summary: Joanna McCoy visits her father aboard theEnterprisefor the first time when she is nine years old. This is the tale of that week.
Relationships: Crew of the Starship Enterprise & Joanna McCoy, James T. Kirk & Joanna McCoy, James T. Kirk & Leonard "Bones" McCoy & Spock, Joanna McCoy & Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Joanna McCoy & Spock, Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Spock
Comments: 25
Kudos: 42
Collections: Spones Reverse Big Bang (2020-2021)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [Here](https://himbo-kirk.tumblr.com/post/640499983853993984/) is the art made by [Basil (himbo-kirk on Tumblr)](https://himbo-kirk.tumblr.com/) that inspired this fic!!  
> Thank you so much [sciencebluefeelings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sciencebluefeelings) for being my Beta <3 !!

Joanna McCoy's first visit to the  _ Enterprise _ is... a new experience, for everyone involved.

First of all is the fact that her father doesn't know. Her visit is, after all, his early birthday surprise, courtesy of the Captain and First Officer, and Joanna herself. She is nine years old and her father is turning forty-two. The Captain, Jim Kirk, asked for every favor he was owed and the First Officer, Spock, pulled every string his status as son of a most-valuable Vulcan Ambassador to Earth has influence over. When asked about it after the fact, Spock won't comment, and Jim will say it wasn't "a big deal", both agreeing it was worth it.

Then there is the fact that the only person aboard Joanna knew beforehand other than her father is the Captain himself. They met shortly a few months before her father shipped out, and spoke occasionally since when he joins her father on their thrice-monthly vidcall. She met Spock via vidcall twice too; once when he'd come to her father's quarters while they were on call and her father insisted on introductions, and a second time when he was just leaving her father's quarters when the call connected. They had in total talked probably less than three minutes.

Their first real meeting, Jim later tells her father, is hilarious. "No Bones, it was hilarious, really, listen to me. So she comes out of the shuttle, says 'hi' to me, we hug, the whole thing. And then she turns to Spock. She looks at him, grabs her hand and forces her fingers into a Vulcan salute and says 'hello,'" he pitches his voice higher. " _ Then, _ Spock raises his hand and says 'greetings,'" he lowers his voice and laughs. "She then asked what to call him. Said she called you Daddy and me Uncle Jim and asked what she should call him. He said to call him Spock and she asked if he didn't want to be Uncle Spock, to which he looked the Vulcan version of scared and slightly horrified. She then suggested Mister Spock and he insisted that just Spock was fine. It was hilarious Bones, you should've been there."

(Leonard grumbles in response that, "Well, I wasn't there because I didn't know my child would be coming to this flying deathtrap we're in, and whose fault is that?" But there isn't any real heat behind it.)

And the third big factor that made the whole thing a novel experience is that children are rarely allowed on Starfleet starships, especially on those like the  _ Enterprise. _ And that's where most of Jim's asked favours and Spock's influence came in. Which also made it a novel thing for the crew at large.

It ends up being, by and large, a great experience that helps ensure there will be more times for Joanna to visit the  _ Enterprise _ in the future, but we'll focus on the first time for now.

* * *

His shift ended almost twenty minutes ago and yet Leonard remains in his office. He has forms to fill, reports to send and patient records to update. Not much, mind you, and nothing urgent either, but one of the nurses came by earlier to remind him of something or other and he started working on the paperwork and here he is now. He isn't in a particular hurry either. He has nothing planned this evening, and Jim and Spock are probably sparring after their shift and will probably play chess later, and Leonard may join them—not to play, just to watch—or he may not.

But now Leonard is focused on his PADD and he hasn't even realized his shift is over, and if it weren't for the chime at his office door he wouldn't have noticed either.

He looks up as the door opens and Spock strides in. "Doctor," he nods. "Your shift ended seventeen point four-three minutes ago."

"Spock. Yeah, just catching up on some paperwork." He gestures to his PADD.

Spock tilts his head. "There is nothing of urgency you must attend to, correct?"

Now Leonard is intrigued. "Not really. Why?"

"If you could accompany me..."

And five minutes (six point two-one minutes, if you were to ask Spock) and many unanswered questions later they walk up to Observation Room Three, on Deck Five, same as the higher-ranking officers' quarters.

"C'mon Spock, jus' tell me what's goin' on! Are you and Jim p—"

Spock stops before the door and places an arm across Leonard's chest to stop him as well, essentially shutting him up, too. A moment later, the doors slide open.

The first thing Leonard sees is Jim, standing in the middle of the room with his back to the door. The next thing he sees is, also with their back to the door, a short person wearing red looking out into space. In an instant, upon hearing the door, both of them turn around.

And one moment Leonard is standing and the next one he would've fallen if it weren't for Spock's hands on his back, because at the yell of "DADDY!" the little person in red—who Leonard now realizes is Joanna—sprints across the room and throws herself at his arms.

Half-lying against Spock who is still holding him up, with his daughter in his arms for the first time in years, blabbing nonsense against her hair without even realising, Leonard feels shock and confusion, and excitement and apprehension, and a whole lot more shock and confusion. It takes an hour of reunion and explanations ("What the hell is she doing here Jim!? D'you have any idea how dangerous space is! And for a child no less! For  _ my _ child!" "Does her mother even know she's here!? Jim, did you kidnap my child!? Goddammit Jim, stop laughing and answer me already!" "And you were in on it, too! Spock, how could ya'!") before everyone (Leonard) calms down enough for Jim to retake control of the situation and send them off to grab dinner and sleep.

That night Leonard and Joanna have dinner alone in his quarters, where there is now an extra bed, and Jo talks and talks and talks until she falls asleep mid-sentence in her father's arms.

* * *

Jim slides into the seat next to Jo's at lunch. "There you are! How's your day been so far, you two?"

They're having lunch in the officers' mess and Leonard takes advantage of Joanna's distraction while telling Jim all about their morning exploring the ship to take a look around. There's a few people around, only three other tables occupied, which makes sense because it's still thirty minutes until shift change and they  _ are _ having an early lunch.

He tunes back into the conversation just as Joanna is telling Jim what she chose for lunch. After a quick discussion on replicated foods and a promise to show her how replicators work, Jim turns to Leonard. "I've got a shift now but Spock's is ending, if you wanted to have him show you two the science labs." He turns to Joanna who nods enthusiastically. "Great! I'll send him your way. Finish your lunch kiddo. Bones, we'll talk later. See ya!" And as quick as he arrived, he's gone.

Not two minutes later, just as Joanna is chewing her last bite, Spock arrives. He nods a greeting on his way to the replicator and comes back to their table with what Jim calls 'his Vulcan protein shake' and what Leonard calls 'not a real meal, goddammit.' Spock gets a slight frown from Leonard and a silent promise for another talk about nutrition later and excited blabble from Joanna.

As promised, they get a tour around the science labs, starting with the chemistry lab first, going all through the energy, biology and geology labs in Deck Two, physics, cosmology and astronomy labs in Deck Three and heading to Deck Eighteen with the botany and hydroponics labs and botany garden last. The garden is admittedly not as big as most would like, but seeing it for the first time, especially after having spent some time on a spaceship with as little gardens or "plant zones" as the  _ Enterprise _ has, it can be quite impressive. And Joanna is quite impressed indeed.

She takes off immediately and proceeds to read the name of every plant as presented in the little informational plaques some of them have and rattles off questions as fast as she can talk. To Leonard's amusement, Spock seems taken aback by this behaviour, much more intense now than it was when visiting any of the previous labs, and after many questions he can answer and some he cannot, Leonard decides to help out. "This is not Spock's specialty, darlin'. Why don't you ask the nice Ensign over there if e can help you?"

The Ensign emself is one of the few other people currently in the gardens with them, and the only one seemingly on duty. E looks up from es PADD, realizes e is indeed the one being addressed and pales. "I- I would love to help, sirs, but I need to take this report back to the lab. But I saw Lieutenant Sulu arrive at the lab just before I left, and he's off duty and I'm sure he would like to help. I can ask him to come over if you'd like?" e manages to stammer out and flees quickly after e gets a nod, throwing a quick "pleasure to meet you" in Joanna's way.

Jo goes back to inspecting the plants and reading plaques and Spock turns to Leonard. "Thank you," he says, placing a hand on Leonard's upper arm.

"It's nothin'. You were lookin' a bit overwhelmed, I get it. She does that when she gets excited." He shrugs. "What I want to know is about that Ensign. Are we really that intimidating? It's not rank either, the crew doesn't seem to be that intimidated by Jim. If he were here, e would've probably stayed. Why are we more intimidating than the Captain?"

"I am a Vulcan and you are best known among the crew for yelling at and threatening the Captain, and myself on occasion, with painful medical procedures."

"Lower those damn eyebrows, you—"

"Mister Spock, Doctor, nice of you to visit! And you must be Joanna! I've heard a lot about you. Hikaru Sulu, local plant enthusiast, at your service. I hear you've got some questions?" And just like that they're off, rapid questions and enthusiastic answers going back and forth between the two.

"You know," Leonard sits in one of the benches near the entrance and Spock follows suit. "She says she wants to be a doctor, but seeing her like this I'm sure she would prefer to do something with plants, right?"

"I suspect she wishes to be like her father."

Leonard looks away from his daughter and finds Spock already looking at him. "You—" He sighs and grabs Spock's hand, gives it a squeeze, and lets go.

The topic changes and the conversation goes on as they watch Joanna and Sulu go on and come and go from plant to plant. They watch them go to the labs next door and then see them come back. By the time they approach their bench, conversation seemingly ending, almost three hours have passed since they arrived at this deck.

"Daddy, come, I gotta show you these flowers from—"

"Nuh-uh darlin', no can do. You, little lady, need to eat and we're goin' to bed early because you're still adjustin' to the time change from gettin' to space."

"But Daddy! We're not done exploring the garden! And I have to show you! There's this type of moss from Barzan II that—"

"And you can tell me all about it while we eat darlin', but we gotta get goin'."

Joanna pouts. "But Daddy... Can we eat here at least? It's pretty here."

"I'm pretty sure we can't bring food here darlin'. Right Spock?" Maybe asking the Vulcan who (supposedly) can't lie to help him out in this one wasn't Leonard's brightest idea, but he  _ is _ pretty sure that food is prohibited in these gardens.

"Indeed, of all the consumables on-board only drinking water is allowed in these premises, if I'm not mistaken," and he looks at Sulu.

"Yeah, not here, but we've got a small garden right by one of the mess halls in the deck above and you can eat there if you want to," he tells Joanna, who immediately turns back to her father.

"Can we eat there Daddy? Please?"

He sighs but doesn't bother to hide his smile. "Yes darlin', we can."

She hugs him. "Yes! Thank you Daddy! And you can come with us too, can you Mister Hikaru?" She looks at him and then at her father while the two of them share a look, and Leonard nods.

"If he wants to darlin', he can come, but you gotta ask if he wants to."

"Do you wanna come have dinner with us in the gardens Mister Hikaru? If you have time and only if you want to?"

He laughs. "I'd love to, yes."

And like so, an impromptu picnic in the gardens occurs. They grab dinner from the mess hall in Deck Seventeen with little trouble ("I'm letting you have some fries again but add some veggies too, Jo." "You ate nothin' for lunch Spock. Have something else with your soup.") and instead of sitting at a table they sit on a bench on the gardens just next to it. Or, the adults do, as Joanna insists that "It's a picnic, we need to get in touch with nature, so I'm sittin' on the ground." Never mind her father's insistence that "It ain't ground or nature when we're in space Jo, it's just the floor. Come up here."

Jo tells Leonard and Spock all about the "coolest and prettiest plants" she saw, and they all promise to come back to the gardens so Sulu can show her all the plants they missed before she leaves.

Sulu is the first one to leave, bidding them all goodnight and heading out, leaving just the three of them to walk back to their quarters in Deck Five.

They come to a stop at the door to Leonard's (and Joanna's for the week) quarters and he opens up to let her in. "Go take a shower darlin'. You remember how to use it from yesterday right?"

"Yes Daddy."

Leonard turns to Spock. "Come in for a minute? Jo's gonna want you to say goodnight at least."

He raises an eyebrow. "If Joanna wants me to, then I must."

A huff. "Don' make fun of me." Hand grabs arm and with a light pull they walk in, door closing behind them.

Joanna walks out of the adjoining room, a pile of clothes in her arms. "I'm gonna shower now Daddy, and can we watch that holofilm you told me about after?"

"Yes darlin'."

"Joanna, I must now retire. I bid you good night and hope you have an adequate rest. I shall see you again tomorrow."

Leonard rolls his eyes. "What Spock means is 'I'm goin' to bed now, goodnight.'"

"Oh! Yes, good night Spock! See ya' tomorrow."

As the bathroom door closes leaving them alone, Spock very pointedly does not look at Leonard. "I apologize—"

"No you don't. You've got nothin' to apologize for." He turns. "Hey, c'mon, look at me." He raises a hand to Spock's cheek and turns his head until their eyes meet. "You did nothin' wrong. You were great with Jo. She really likes you, you know? Ah-ah-ah, no, don't interrupt me. I'm bein' honest. She likes you. You saw how she clung to your every word back at the labs? She doesn't care about the geology of whatever planet you were tellin' her about, but  _ you _ were tellin' her about it, so of course she got interested. You're great, of course she's gonna like you."

Spock's hand comes to rest above Leonard's on his cheek, the other one comes up to Leonard's side. "Thank you Leonard." They kiss softly, lips touching lips for just a moment, hand touching hand touching cheek, and then as their lips separate, forehead touching forehead. And then just the hands remain. "Good night Leonard."

Leonard sighs softly. "Night Spock. See ya' tomorrow."

Half a holofilm later Leonard carries Joanna, already asleep, to her bed, checks the time and comm texts Jim, who doesn't answer but knocks on his door five minutes later.

They share a cup of tea ("No coffee after 1800 hours Jim." "No alcohol either, Jo's in the other room.") while Leonard tells Jim about their day ("You had a picnic without me, Bones! I'm hurt!" "Keep your voice down that Jo is sleeping, you overdramatic—") and Jim updates Leonard on his altered schedule for the week.

"You've got no Delta shifts, except for the day Jo leaves, after she leaves. Alpha shifts every morning except for the day she leaves, Beta shift just in two days when you've got that surgery scheduled. Who was it? Ensign Barton?"

"Crewman Reed, Barton is their partner."

"Right, Reed. Well, and Gamma shift the day of the surgery and the day after that, that's it. I had to put you in a few extra shifts next week, but I thought it was worth it, right?"

"Definitely."

"Great. And for babysitting, I have talk with Spock but I'm gonna try and have one of us free on Alpha most days seeing as we're doing nothing but charting dead space currently, and I've already had offers from Uhura, Chekov, and, just a few minutes ago when I crossed him in the hallway, a very enthusiastic Sulu, which now that you've told me about your day makes more sense," he laughs.

"That's... That's great Jim, thank you."

"It's nothing Bones. Now, I'm gonna go see who I can spare from the Bridge tomorrow morning and I'll text you who's your first babysitter. Oh, and we gotta have dinner together some time! Me and you and Jo, and with Spock too, and with the whole Bridge crew actually, everyone's excited to meet her. I'll arrange that, don't worry. Gotta go now, see you tomorrow Bones!" And as fast as he came he is gone.


	2. Chapter 2

On Joanna's second morning aboard the  _ Enterprise, _ just as her father is finishing his breakfast and she is replicating herself a second bowl of cereal, the door to their quarters chimes. As her father greets the visitor, invites her in, and asks her something about breakfast, Joanna stares. She stares and stares at the pretty woman who walks in. She has pretty dark hair and pretty dark skin, bright eyes and a lovely smile, and most importantly, she waves off her father and comes right up to Joanna, she crouches down so they are face to face, and she smiles.

"I'm Nyota. It's nice to meet you."

Joanna scrambles to balance her cereal bowl in one hand and reach to shake Nyota's with the other one, ignoring her father's warning not to drop the bowl, and introduces herself. Ten minutes later has her father walking out the door with a reminder that he'll be back for lunch thrown her way, and Joanna and Nyota halfway through planning their day.

First thing on the agenda is a makeover so they make their way to Nyota's quarters after Jo changes out of her pajamas, and Nyota asks her about her red overalls.

"I made them myself! Do you like it? Well, I didn't  _ make _ make it myself, but I sewed the Starfleet patch, do you see?" She points. "I couldn't find a blue one, so I went with red, but I want to be a doctor and those wear blue."

"It looks amazing, Jo! Here, how about this? I can't actually replicate you a blue shirt your size myself, but we can ask the Quartermaster and I'm sure they would love to help. How does that sound?"

"Really!? Yes! I would love that! Thank you Miss Nyota!"

"You're welcome, honey. We'll pay them a visit together once we're done with our hair and nails, that sounds good?"

"Yeah!"

"Great. Now, tell me what colours you'd like your nails?"

And like so, after painting their nails ("Blue, so it matches my science shirt!") and styling their hair ("Can you make it pretty like yours?" "Why, thank you honey! And yes, I can. Here, let me show you..."), and applying some make-up ("You know, your father and Spock probably use more eyeshadow than I do." "Really?" "Yeah, they love the stuff. I'm more of a subtle eyeliner kind of girl."), they are ready to go... Almost.

"Wait, here. Let's take a picture before we go. Your dad will love it."

"Yes!"

And after a quick photo shoot, now they are ready to go. Jo is really excited about the whole thing, showing every crew member who stops to say hello her blue nails and telling them that they are "Goin' to look for my uniform now!" Until one of the people they meet is someone they both know.

"Christine!"

"Nyota! And you must be Joanna. I've heard so much about you, it's lovely to finally meet you. I'm Christine, I work with your dad."

"Ohh, so  _ you _ are Christine! You're even prettier than Daddy said!" They both blush pink at that. "I mean— Daddy really likes you, he says you're his friend! And I asked if you're pretty and he said that of course you were pretty but he didn't say how pretty you were! I—" Uhura isn't even trying to hide her laughter anymore, and Chapel, blushing hot red, is quick to interrupt.

"Thank you, honey. You too are beautiful. I love your hair, and I see you've got blue nails?"

Jo nods excited, "Yeah! Miss Nyota did my hair and helped me with my nails! And my make-up too, look! And we're goin' to ask for a uniform for me now too! A blue one, like sciences, because I wanna be a doctor when I grow up!"

"That's lovely, honey. You're going to be a great doctor, just like your dad, I'm sure." Joanna beams at her. "Speaking of your dad, I have to get going. He's waiting for these reports," she lifts the PADDs on her hand. "And don't tell him I told you this, but he gets grumpy when I'm not there to help him out." Jo giggles at that.

"That's fine Miss Christine, go help Daddy. I'll see you later?"

"Definitely honey, I'll ask your dad to give me a day off to spend with you. How does that sound?" Joanna nods, and Christine turns. "I'll see you tonight Ny?"

Nyota smiles. "Yeah, your quarters. See you."

As they near the ship's stores and requisition center Joanna first notices the heat. "It's because we're so near the ship's main computers, which are huge and working a lot all the time." Uhura explains. "There's a whole refrigeration system in place, but it still manages to heat up the place enough that it's noticeable. Same thing happens with main engineering too, but that one's even worse."

The Quartermaster's office is near the entrance, door being held open by a couple of stacked boxes, and all the way there Joanna openly stares, eyes big as plates, at the... "organized mess" people call it around here. "A walking hazard," "maze" or "just as bad as my first dorm room's floor" others say. "We're tryin' our bloody best," Quartermaster Zilke always reminds everyone who complains, "to supply every damn pillock on this ship with everything they ever ask for. If someone doesn't like our system, which complies with regulation  _ by the way _ , then they can stop needing bedsheets and clothes and toiletries and just about everything else too and see how they like our mess then."

Zilke is currently in their office, sitting at their desk and frowning at a PADD, with a pile of too many PADDs hazardly balanced at the edge of the desk. They don't even look up at the knock on their door, just grumble out something that sounded like "Yeah, wait a tick."

Indeed, a few moments later they finally put down their PADD and look up. "Yeah, what do you— Lieutenant!" They startle, sit up straight, try to fix something on their desk, look around at the mess in their office, and deflate a bit. "I apologize Lieutenant, I wasn't expecting... I— What can I do for you?"

Uhura smiles. "Why don't you explain, Jo?"

Zilke shifts to look at Joanna. "Hello. I'm Joanna McCoy, I'm visiting my Daddy. We were here because we wanted to ask, well... I've got this uniform, see?" She gestures at herself, red overalls with the Starfleet insignia sewn into it, as she's been wearing since she arrived. "I got red because there wasn't a blue one my size and Mommy didn't want to get me one that'd be too big. And then I added the Starfleet patch, see? Here." She points. "But I really wanted a blue one because I'm gonna be a doctor when I grow up, like Daddy, but there wasn't one so I got red, because I like red better than yellow. But!" she is quick to add, "don't tell Uncle Captain Jim I said that! I don't want him to get sad." She looks up at Uhura who nods with barely concealed laughter. "And so we wanted to ask if you could get a blue uniform for me, because I really want a blue one and Miss Nyota said she couldn't get me one but we could ask you and you could help? Please?"

Zilke looks... Well, at least they don't look as alarmed anymore. "Huh. Well, I can't replicate you a shirt with an actual insignia on it, per regulation. Unless the Captain has... You know, 'field promoted' you? 'Field hired' you in this case?" They look at Uhura who shakes her head. "Yeah, I didn't think so. But, what I can do, is replicate you a blue shirt your size, and another one of those patches you've got there, and probably some thread or glue too. How does that sound?"

Joanna nods excitedly. "Yeah! Sounds great, thank you!"

They get up. "It's no problem, kiddo. Here, I can— Actually, do you know what shirt size you wear? Or we can measure you if you don't. And do you have black trousers already? Or do you want me to replicate you some as well? Or the skirt, we can do the skirt too..."

Twenty minutes and a minor accident with glue later has Joanna coming out of the restroom donning her new uniform, science blue shirt with a new Starfleet patch glued on and black trousers, her previous red uniform in hand, and a blinding bright smile on her face.

"Why, you look amazing honey!" Uhura goes in for a hug.

"It's a pleasure to have you on board, crewman McCoy." Zilke mock salutes her. "Have a nice day kiddo, and don't tell your dad about the glue thing, okay?"

"Yeah, promise. Thank you for helping me!"

"What do you say we go leave these clothes in your quarters," Uhura points at the red overalls, "And then we go show off your new uniform? Has anyone taken you to the Bridge yet?"

"I haven't been. Daddy didn't want to take me the other day..."

"That's because your father is a worry wart. And, he's not on the Bridge right now. But you know who is?"

"Uncle Jim?"

"Exactly! And he'll be delighted to have you there. So, what do you say?"

"Yeah! Let's go."

* * *

The turbolift to the Bridge opens and the Captain doesn't even look up from his PADD. Spock doesn't turn from his station either, but some of the other people around the Bridge do. Joanna only recognizes Mister Hikaru, who waves at her, and she waves back at him and at the man sitting next to her, who also waves.

"Permission to enter the Bridge, Captain?" Uhura asks, which causes him to turn around, confusion in his face, until he sees them and lights up.

"Of course! Lieutenant, who is this you bring with you? New crewman?"

Uhura smiles. "Yes Captain. McCoy, assigned in medical. She just shipped in." Joanna straightens her back and tries copying a salute.

"Pleasure to meet you, then, crewman McCoy. At ease." He smiles. "Come here Jo, let me see. Where did you get this uniform?"

"We went to ask the Quaser— Quars—"

"Quartermaster?"

"Yeah that! Quar-ter-mas-ter." She says each syllable separately. "Quartermaster Zilke. We asked them and they helped! And look, Miss Nyota made my hair pretty like hers, and look at my nails! They match my uniform now! And my make-up, see my eyes?"

"You look lovely Jo, have you shown your dad yet?"

"Not yet, but we're having lunch with him in a bit."

"He's going to love it. Here, you haven't been on the Bridge yet, have you? Let me show you around." They walk around, Jim explaining every station and introducing everyone. "You know Spock already. He's my First Officer, you know what that means?"

"He's like the second captain right?"

Jim laughs. "Second captain, yeah, that works. He's basically the second captain.  _ And _ he's my Chief Science Officer, you know that one?"

"Hmm... It's like Daddy that's the Chief Medical Officer, he's like the captain of the medical staff on the ship, so Spock must be the second captain and the captain of the science officers, right?"

"That's a great way of explaining it Jo, well done. And you know all about the science part of the ship right? Spock explained it all yesterday?"

"Yeah! We had fun, we visited all the science labs and then the botany garden! And had a picnic with Mister Hikaru there." She turns to him and they wave at each other again.

"Yeah, your dad told me you had fun. And speaking of Sulu, come here, look. This is the piloting and navigation station. We've got Mister Sulu, who you've met, as our pilot, and Mister Chekov as our navigator. Can you guess what they do?"

"Well, the pilot moves the ship right?"

"Essentially, yeah."

"And the navigator... navigates?"

They all laugh. "Yeah," says Jim. "The navigator is the one who tells the pilot where to take the ship. So Mister Chekov here is the one to plot our courses and keep track of where we are at any given time."

"Oohhh, sounds fun!"

"It is fun," says Chekov, heavy accent immediately catching Joanna's attention. "I'm Pavel, want me to show you how it works?"

She looks up at Jim. "Yeah kid, knock yourself out. I'll be sitting right there on that pretty chair. Once you're done here I can tell you all about that." He walks over it and sits down, picking up his PADD again.

Jo then turns back around. "Yes please, Mister Pavel."

"I ain't no Mister, you make me feel old. Just Pavel is fine."

"Well, then you can call me Jo."

"It'd be my pleasure, Jo."

Chekov then proceeds to explain in detail but simply enough for a nine year old to understand what his job as a navigator entails, and with Sulu's commentary to add, she ends up learning a lot about piloting too. By the time she finally turns back to Jim and approaches the Captain's chair, it's thirty minutes until shift change.

Jim looks up when he sees her approach and smiles. "You done with the boys, Jo? How do you like navigation?"

"It's interesting. I really liked the maps, but you gotta know a lot of math and I don't like that."

"But you have to know math to be a great Captain!"

"Yeah but I don't wanna be Captain, I wanna be a doctor."

He clutches his chest dramatically. "You wound me, kiddo. Don't you like the sound of Captain McCoy?"

"Nuh-uh. I wanna be Doctor McCoy."

"But we already have one of those! Plus, look, if you're a Captain you get to sit in this chair! This is the most amazing chair that there is."

She looks it over, skeptical. "Is it?"

"Yeah! It can do some cool things, but more important than the chair itself is what it represents. It's an honour to be able to sit here every day, and a responsibility."

"So I can't sit in the chair?"

"Nope. But... I could let you sit in my lap? Until the shift ends, and I'll have your dad pick you up here for lunch. How does that sound?"

"Yeah!"

"Great, come up here then, and let's tell your dad. Here, look, with this button here we can open up comm channels to different places on the ship, so if we press this and then switch this we open up a channel to Medbay and..."

* * *

When Leonard steps off the turbolift and into the Bridge he first notices Uhura standing against the wall by the entrance looking bored, and then notices Jim, sitting on his chair, with Joanna on his lap, showing her something on his PADD.

"You've been here doing nothin' since when?" he asks Uhura.

"We've been here awhile now, but she's been having fun. They explored each station and then Chekov lectured her on all basic navigation courses in like an hour. She's been sitting there for a while now. And I wasn't doing nothing. I was talking with Molly until just now." She nods towards Ensign Hooper at the communication station.

"Jo's wearing a different shirt?"

"Yeah, that was fun. I'm sure she'll tell you all about it over lunch."

"You're still joining us for that, right?"

"Yeah, I got time."

"Thank you for minding her today."

"Oh, it was nothing Leonard, really. We had fun. She's an angel, always polite and curious about everything. I'll gladly do it again if our shifts allow it."

"You, Nyota, are an angel. Now let me get her before Jim corrupts her anymore and we're going."

Jim notices him approach first. "Bones!"

"Daddy!" Joanna all but jumps off of Jim's lap. "I got to sit on the Captain's chair, did you see?"

"More like sitting on the Captain, weren't you?"

"Shush, Bones. Don't be like that. She's going to be a great Captain one day."

"No I'm not."

"No she's not."

Joanna smiles at him. "I had so much fun Daddy! We did a lot of things! We— I—"

"Tell me about it while we walk? We're getting lunch and Nyota is already waiting for us."

"Yeah, let's go! See you later Uncle Captain Jim! You too Spock, Mister Sulu, Pavel." She waves at everyone else, talking a mile a minute telling Leonard all about their day on their way to the officers' mess hall. She tells him about her hair, nails and make up ("And you gotta show me how you do  _ your _ make up someday Daddy!"), about the visit to the ship's stores and requisition center (and she makes no mention of glue whatsoever) and about every station on the Bridge. "Pavel explained it better than I did. Maybe we can ask him to explain it to you later, I think I missed some things. But it sounds like it's real fun even if there's a lot of math in there too that isn't as fun. And Pavel told me he'd teach me how to play chess! Do you know how to play chess Daddy?"

"I do but I ain't no good. I played against Jim twice and promised not to ever again. He's good, him and Spock, they play together all the time. Chekov's good too, I hear. I know he's played with Spock a few times, I think with Jim too."

"And you Miss Nyota?"

"I know how to play, yes. But I don't think I've played since I first learned. Maybe we can play a game once you learn, I'm sure you'll be better than me."

After an uneventful lunch ("No Jo, you can't have fries as you side for your third meal in a row. Pick something else." "But it's not third in a row. I didn't have fries for breakfast." "Jo..." "Fine.") Uhura parts for her shift and the two of them retire to their quarters.

A quiet evening, just the two of them, is what follows. With Joanna exhausted from a long and exciting morning, still not used to the "timezone" as it was aboard the ship, and Leonard having a long day of surgery to look forward to the next day, quiet conversations, board games and holofilms are just what they need for the evening.

("So, tell me, how's school been?" "And what's your favourite planet you've visited so far?" "Have you seen your aunts and uncles recently?" "You didn't tell me that Miss Christine was so pretty." "You still friends with that kid next door?" "Hey! You're cheating! It's my turn!" "So you have the same xenolinguistics teacher for the third year in a row?" "Is Uncle Jim really allergic to as many things as he said?" "You counted wrong. Look who's cheating now." "You've never watched that film!? We're watching it now." "You were right darlin', it's a really good film.")

As the evening winds down, Leonard reading something on his PADD and Jo browsing the holofilm catalogue once again, Leonard's comm chimes. "Spock's asking if we want to have dinner with him." Leonard says after reading the text. "What do you think?"

Joanna tilts her head, thinking about it. "I don't wanna go anywhere."

"That's fine, me neither. We can eat here. But do you want Spock to come over?"

"Do you want him to?"

"Doesn't matter what I want darlin'. I'm asking you. I can have Spock over every other day. You're here now and you're my priority. If you want him to come over he does; if you'd rather he didn't, he doesn't. And the same thing goes for everyone else, all the time, okay? You want to do something or hang out with someone, we can try and arrange it. You don't want to be somewhere or do something or be with someone, you tell me and we'll get out of there or kick them out, yeah? Always, for any reason."

She nods. "Thank you Daddy. Mommy told me the same, said it's important to set boundaries." She says the last word slowly, careful to get it right.

"That's right darlin', boundaries. And it really is important. Tomorrow for example, I gotta work all day. I'll see you at breakfast and be back after dinnertime. You're gonna spend your morning with Jim, after lunch you'll hang out in Medbay with Christine and Spock will pick you up for dinner and I'll see you just before you fall asleep. How does that sound?"

"I'll miss you. But being with them sounds good. Uncle Jim was telling me about engineering today, I think he's taking me there. And I met Miss Christine today too, she seemed nice. And I like Spock. He's really intelligent and doesn't talk to me like I'm a kid or like I'm dumb."

"That's great darlin', I'm glad you're liking everyone so far. So tomorrow when you're hanging out with them, it's important that you remember boundaries with them too, not just with your Momma and me. You wanna do something else, or go somewhere else, or hang out with someone else, you tell them. They're all really nice people and they care about you. All of them. I wouldn't ask them to take care of you if I don't trust them to do so correctly."

"I know Daddy, thank you."

"That's my baby girl. Now come give your old man a hug. Can't believe you're so grown up darlin', you're my baby. Do you know how small you were when you were born?"

"I know Daddy," she speaks into his chest, their arms wrapped around each other. "You say it every time. Forty-nine centimetres, three and a half kilogrammes; the size of a watermelon and a third of its weight."

"Don't you sigh and roll your eyes at me Missy. You're still a kid, you can't do that until you're a teenager. I still expect three years free of sighs and eyerolls from you." They laugh. "So. Dinner, what do you say? Spock or no Spock?"

"Yeah, he can come over. I want to ask him about that soup he had yesterday. It smelled weird, but now bad weird, you know?"

"Oh, yeah. That's  _ plomeek _ for you. It smells unlike nothin' we've got on Earth. It was weird for me too at first."

"Does it taste bad?"

"Not really, no. It's like a mix between sweet potatoes and beets. You may like it, actually."

"Really? Now I wanna try it."

"I'm sure Spock can help you out darlin'. He's got a ton of recipes programmed. He wouldn't think of it that way, but he's quite a chef."

"Really?"

"Well, technically it's more programming and food engineering, what with it being replicated food and all. But he's come up with quite a few recipes over time. He can tell you all about it in just about..." The door chimes. "Now."

"Woah! Hi Spock. How did you know when he was gonna get here Daddy?"

"Hello Joanna, Leonard."

"It always takes him the same from his quarters to mine. Hi Spock. We were just talkin' about you. Jo asked about your  _ plomeek _ soup and I was telling her about your work with the replicators."

"Yeah! Did you really make up your own recipes, Spock?"

"I did, yes. Originally some of it was trying to adapt Vulcan recipes to Terran ingredients, then some of it was adapting traditional Terran dishes to make them more palatable to the Vulcan taste, and then I experimented with what I had and came to some promising results."

"You mean, good recipes?"

"Yes."

"That's so cool! Can you show me some? Daddy said I should try the  _ plomeek _ , that I may like it."

"It would be my pleasure to do so."

Over dinner, which for Jo turns out being a creamy  _ plomeek _ soup of Spock's own creation and roasted veggies, including  _ plomeek _ , Spock tells them more about traditional Vulcan recipes and how they can be adapted to Human tastes. He tells them about his mother's favourite foods and dishes, a mix of Vulcan and Terran alike, and he tells them how it was for him to adapt to Terran food when he first moved to Earth. He then asks Jo about school, and after she tells her all about it (Easily summarized to "some of it is boring, some of it isn't, and I'm doing great overall.") she asks him about school in Vulcan, which turns into a discussion about learning at large, which then delves into her wish to become a doctor.

"Well, Daddy is a doctor, and he's great. And you can help people being a doctor, you can always help people. I helped my friend John when he fell and scraped his knee a few weeks back; I helped him walk home, I washed his knee, disinfected it and applied dermal reg' to it. But I couldn't 've helped him if he'd broken a bone instead. I could've told him not to move, I could've called for help, I could've hugged him and told him it would be okay while we waited for help, but I could've done anything about it. Same thing if he'd have gotten sick instead. There's only so much I can do right now, because I don't know how. But there are people who know how, and I can learn, and that way I can help too. Like Daddy does. He's all the way up here, in one of the best ships in the Federation, in the middle of space which he hates, and he's here, because he can help people. Because he wants to help people. People all the way across the universe who need help. And I want to do the same."

Spock nods in understanding, keeping his eyes on Joanna's, the both of them very pointedly not looking at Leonard, who is doing a very bad job of trying to hide his tears. Joanna is polite enough not to mention it when she gets up and hugs him while continuing to make conversation with Spock, asking why he'd been interested in joining space.

After almost an hour of conversation, when Jo's blinks start getting longer, while her head hangs heavy on her arm against the table, when she finally stops trying to conceal her yawns, Leonard sends her to bed.

"Why don't you go get ready for bed darlin'? We're all falling asleep on our seats."

"Hmm, no Daddy, I don't wanna. I'm listenin', 'm not sleepy."

"Darlin' if you yawn any bigger you're gonna dislocate your jaw. We're all exhausted and both Spock and I gotta get up early tomorrow. And I've got surgery tomorrow. Let's go to bed."

"Hmm, fine. But I wanna hear the end of that story tomorrow Spock."

"That is agreeable. You must rest now. All of us must."

"Yeah, 'm goin'. G'night Daddy," She hugs him. "'Night Spock. Thank you for coming tonight, 'twas great."

"It was my pleasure Joanna. I wish you a good night of sleep."

Leonard stands up. "I'm gonna go make sure she makes it to bed okay, I'll be right back."

By the time he comes back the dishes have been cleared and the table is spotless once again. Spock is sitting on the couch now, with a cup of tea in hand and another one waiting on the coffee table. Leonard sits next to him, cradling his cup in his hands and leaning back into the couch. With their shoulders and legs touching, and after taking his first sip and finding it just as perfect as every other time Spock made tea for him, Leonard feels himself relax. He shifts to the side and leans back into Spock's chest, Spock's arm coming around him to allow it, his hand finding Leonard's and their fingers tangling around each other's.

Leonard sighs, takes another sip of his tea, and feels himself relax some more, with the feeling of Spock's strong heartbeat against his back. "You're amazing, you know that? You're— you're perfect."

Leonard feels the eyebrow go up even if he can't see it. "I very much am not."

"You are tho'. You're— You— I love you. You know that, right?"

"I do, Leonard."

"Good. I'm gonna tell you again."

"I know."

"I love you."

"I know Leonard. I understand you are aware of my regard for you as well, correct?"

"Yeah, very aware. I like that you check in once in a while tho', to make sure I haven't forgotten or somethin'."

The eyebrow again. "Human memory is most... Fallible, I've come to find."

"Sadly, yeah." A sigh. They share the silence for a few moments. A soft, comfortable silence. A silence they are used to; the two of them, their breathing, the hum of the ship around them, and this time with the addition of another soft breathing in the room next door.

"Are you..." Leonard turns a bit, so they can look at each other in the face. "Will you love me, still? When I'm an old man, with white hair, failing memory and a lot of arthritis?"

Spock puts down his cup of tea and places both his hands on Leonard's cheeks. "Leonard," he says, "I cannot predict the future, but I can assure you that what I feel for you, what you are to me, that will persist for as long as my katra will."

"But what about Jim?"

"What about him?"

"Isn't he your  _ t'hy'la _ ?"

"He is. We have had this conversation before, Leonard. What he is to me is rare, unique and precious. But what you are to me is all of that too, and in addition, romantic, while what I share with Jim isn't. By choice, both his and mine. And yours. The fact that Jim and I are  _ t'hy'lara _ no one chose. We just are. Be it destiny, fate, chance, some deity or something else. What we were given was an opportunity. We took that opportunity and chose to become friends. Chose to become the good command team that we are, frequent opponents at chess, sparring partners at the gym... But just as the opportunity arose when we met, it could've just as easily never happened if we hadn't. If either of us hadn't joined Starfleet, if he'd been assigned a different ship, if I'd transferred out of the  _ Enterprise _ after Pike left; there are infinite possibilities. But we met, and we are  _ t'hy'lara _ , and we chose and choose every day to be who we are, what we are. You, same thing happened. I could've just as easily never met you. But I did meet you, and in the circumstances I did. The opportunity I had with you was equally as unique in the infinite ways it could have or have not happened. Maybe it's even more unique, more special, because there was nothing tying me to you in the first place. And yet I met you, and with no opportunity given to me by a bond I chose to make that opportunity myself. And I chose to get to know you, and chose to befriend you and then chose to pursue you romantically as well. I mean what I say Leonard. Even when words fail me like they do now. I don't find it easy to express these things. I feel... inadequate, when trying to communicate with you what I feel. There surely can be no words, Human, Vulcan or otherwise, to accurately describe these feelings." He pauses, considers. "I suspect this is why the Human term 'love' is so vague and imprecise. Because if it wasn't, then it couldn't possibly encapsulate all this. I've got a bond with Jim, that I value greatly. His friendship, his person, these are precious things to me. But you, Leonard. I couldn't possibly put you into words. There isn't a science out there that could help me with this, there isn't a language out there, there isn't a being, there isn't a culture, there is nothing in this infinite universe of ours, or in any other universe that there may be, there isn't a thing Leonard, that could possibly describe this. But, contradictory as it may be, there isn't a science, language, being, culture or thing in this or any other universe, Leonard, that couldn't recognize this, that could deny this... this feeling. This love, as inadequate as the word may be. This bond. Saying that I love you Leonard, wouldn't be a lie, but it might as well be one for all it's missing."

Leonard is crying. He is crying and he is overwhelmed and he is— he's— He is crying. He is crying and Spock definitely knows, what with looking him in the eyes and with his hands still on Leonard's cheeks, currently brushing the tears away. And Leonard can feel... He feels Spock. He feels... It's hard to describe. Humans are, as a general rule, psi-null. It's a scale, obviously, and some people are more psi-sensitive than others, and Leonard is not exactly a zero, but he's pretty down low in the scale. Jim, much more psi-sensitive than Leonard, quite high for a human actually, had previously described it as a tingling sensation. "Like when you feel pins and needles in your leg after you sit on it wrong for a while? It's like those pins and needles but only where Spock's touching me, Bones." That's what he'd said. And Leonard who'd rarely felt anything other than simple skin to slightly colder skin contact whenever Spock touched him before, he can feel it now. It feels like tingling, it feels like pins and needles, it feels like, like his skin is on fire. It feels like Spock. Like love. That's what it is, isn't it? This is Spock, touching him and not shielding himself. Actively projecting. Maybe not consciously, but he is projecting alright. And Leonard  _ feels _ it. He feels it like it is burning him from the inside out. Like it'll consume him and remake him anew, only to consume him again. This is it. This is what Spock was saying. This isn't love; love can't possibly contain all this. This is  _ them _ .

By the time Leonard regains coherent thought outside of the two of them, he's been trembling and crying in Spock's arms for an unknown amount of time. It could've been minutes, hours, days; a whole millenia could've passed and Leonard wouldn't know the difference. And all he wants to do now is sit there, with Spock, for another millenia more. So he pushes his face into Spock's chest and does just that, all but sitting on Spock's lap as he is already, a hand resting on Spock's side against his beating heart and the other one in one of Spock's.

Once his breathing finally calms down, once he's stopped trembling and once his tears have dried, Spock mutely helps him up and to the bathroom. "Wash your face," he says, leaving only to come back with a glass of water moments later. "Good. Now drink." And he then guides Leonard to bed.

"Stay," Leonard asks, and Spock does.

"We should talk," Leonard says once they both lay in bed, Spock on his back and Leonard on his front, arm around Spock's chest, his hand coming to rest above Spock's heart, as they usually do when sharing a bed.

"We should sleep. We are both exhausted, physically as well as emotionally, and you have surgery tomorrow and three consecutive shifts."

"When you put it like that..."

"Sleep now, Leonard. We shall talk another day."

"Hmm... You takin' Jo tomorrow evening?"

"I am. Now sleep."

"Hmm. G'night Spock."

"Good night Leonard."

"... Spock?"

"Yes, Leonard?"

"Me too."

"I know Leonard. Now sleep, please."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The kinda-meld that isn't really a meld was written by accident. Like I didn't intend to write one, I don't know what happened but ?? I kinda ended up writing one? So yeah, that.


	3. Chapter 3

Joanna sleeps in on her third morning aboard the  _ Enterprise. _ By the time she wakes up, her father is already gone. She is still greeted, however, as soon as she steps out of the room and into the living area of their quarters.

"There you are, sleepyhead! Good morning!"

"Uncle Captain Jim, good morning. What time is it?"

"Exactly 0837 hours, ship-time. Your dad's been gone for a while. He said he woke you to say goodbye before he left but you brushed him off and turned around to keep snoring."

"I don't snore, Uncle Jim."

"True, well... What do you want for breakfast?"

"I don't know..."

"Well, what did you eat these past two days?"

"Cereal and fruit and some milk."

"But that's so boring! I'll give you a good breakfast. Tell me, what do you like better, pancakes or waffles?"

And like so, a honey waffle, a banana, an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and two orange juice glasses later, they are ready to start the day.

"Tell me Jo, what do you want to do today?"

"Hmm, well... You talked about visiting engineering yesterday?"

"Right. A visit to engineering it is. And you wanted to know how the replicators worked, right?"

"Yeah! Spock told us last night about making his own recipes on the replicators, and Daddy said that's a mix of programming and food engineering and Spock promised he'd show me how, but I also wanna know how they work when they make the food."

"He showed you his recipes? There are some really good ones in there."

"Yeah! I tried the...  _ plomeek _ soup?  _ Plomeek _ was it, right?"

"Yes,  _ plomeek _ . And did you like it?"

"It was good, yeah. It smelled weird, but it tasted good. And I tried it roasted too. It wasn't as good as the soup, but it wasn't bad."

The walk to engineering is quick, and soon enough they are standing by the doors.

"Listen, Jo. You remember the rules I told you about in the Bridge yesterday?"

"Not to touch anything, everyone has a job to do, and to stay by your side."

"Yeah, easy, right? Same thing applies here. And I'm going to add that if you wanna leave you tell me and we'll leave. It's hot in here and it can be noisy. It's a big lab and there are some dangerous things. If at any point anything bothers you, you tell me and we leave, okay?"

"Yes Uncle Jim, thank you. Daddy said the same thing yesterday."

"He did?"

"Yeah, we talked about boundaries. He was askin' me if I wanted Spock to come over for dinner."

Jim smiles. "You, Joanna McCoy, are adorable. You're my favourite niece ever, you know that?"

They hug. "Ain't I your only niece?"

"Maybe." They laugh. "Come on now, I've got to show you the beauty of engineering. You want to hold my hand?"

As the door slides open, Joanna instantly notices both the noise and the heat, not that loud and not that hot, but both louder and hotter than out in the corridor or the rest of the ship. The second thing she notices is that the room is indeed quite large. And the third thing she notices is a familiar face in a yellow shirt coming towards them.

"Captain! Jo! What brings you here?"

"Hi Pavel! Uncle Captain Jim wants to show me around."

"Hello Chekov. And yes, actually. We were looking for Scotty, have you seen him?"

"Mister Scot was around here somewhere, but I haven't seen him since shift started..."

"That's fine, we'll find him when we start looking around."

And like that, Jim gets to explaining. He talks about engines, wrap cores and computers, about design, aerodynamics and turbines, about physics, and physics when everything is very small and physics when everything is very fast. There are some things that Jo misses, that she doesn't understand, but that isn't the point. The point is the way Jim talks, fast, jumping from topic to topic in the blink of an eye and gesturing wildly with his hands the whole time. It is the complete opposite to the way Spock had explained what all the science labs were about two days before, pace even and easy to follow, with simple explanations for what needed explaining and the topics flowing from one to the other orderly and logically. But it isn't any less captivating. The way Jim talks about engines and warp cores is the same way Spock talked about physics and chemistry; with deep understanding and fascination. It is the same way her father talks about the Human history of vaccines or those weird Andorian bacteria he likes so much. So it doesn't matter that she doesn't understand half of what is said, she listens all the same.

They walk all around the place, going to the very far end of the room on one side so Jo can see the engine from below, and then to the opposite corner they'd come in from to see some of the computers. By the time they come back around near the entrance again, Jo notes there is a man in red shirt uniform talking with Chekov.

"There you two are!" The man greets when he sees them. He also has a thick accent, very different from Chekov's though. "I hear you've been lookin' for me Captain. And you lassie, must be Miss McCoy. Scotty, pleased to meet ya'."

"Scotty, yes. Remember that replicator we had to replace a few weeks back? The old one, has it been dismantled already?"

"Nae Captain, not yet."

"Great! Can we borrow it? Jo here wants to know how replicators work and I thought showing her on one would be best. And I really don't want Spock mad at me for taking apart one of the working ones from a rec room, you know?"

"Aye sir, wouldn't want that. We have it down in storage Captain, I can fetch it for ya'. Where do ya' want me to take it?"

Fifteen minutes later finds the three of them, Jim, Joanna and Scotty, sitting in the nearest rec room with a broken but mostly intact replicator on the table. As Scotty starts explaining how and why it broke Jim starts taking it apart. Once he gets the exterior plating free and the interior visible he starts pointing the different parts to Joanna and explaining what each does.

"So basically," Jo recounts, "this part here is a computer with all the recipes and instructions to make each food. These two parts here connect to the wall, this one gets water and this one gets... like a paste? That's used as a base to make all the food from, right? And then all these actually make the food, following the instructions from the computer with all the physics and chemistry and atomic manipulation thing you said, and this part is the one that actually places it. And then it goes into here and it gets heated up what needs to be and that's it? Oh, and this thing here is like, to check that all the food that comes out is actually what it's supposed to be, and if it isn't then it tells the computer which tells us? Did I get it right?"

"You did Jo! Great work!"

"Well done lassie. Next thing we know, y'er gonna be working down in engineering with us."

"Thank you Mister Scotty, but I'm gonna be a doctor."

"Yeah, and if not that she's going to be Captain. I'm already trying to recruit her, don't try and steal her from me Scotty." They laugh.

"How is it that you know so much about engineering when you're a captain, Uncle Captain Jim?"

"Well, I minored in engineering. Do you know what that means?"

Jo shakes her head. "Nuh-uh."

"So, your major is the focus of your study, the main thing, and your minors are the other things that you also study, usually to compliment your major." He explains. "So take my case, for example. In the academy I did my major in command track with tactics and logistics orientation. You can pick between tactics and logistics or diplomacy. You still learn a lot about both, but you can pick learning a bit more about one or the other. And then I minored in both engineering and xenolinguistics. The engineering thing was intentional, the xenolinguistics was completely accidental; I just kept taking the classes because I was interested in the different languages. I almost ended up minoring in communications as well, I actually took most of the necessary classes, but in my last year I could've graduated a semester earlier or finish taking the necessary classes for communications and I chose to graduate early. Or, not early exactly, but earlier than anticipated."

"Woah! That's really impressive!"

"Aye, that's our Captain. A smart lad all around," adds Scotty.

"And what about you, Mister Scotty? What did you study?"

The conversation goes on, and by the time they have the replicator assembled once more and back into the trolley Scotty used to bring it in, it is nearing shift change already.

"So, kiddo. What do you say we go check out how well the replicators work now that we know how they do their magic? It's lunch time already."

"Already? I'm not really hungry..."

"Not surprising considering the amazing breakfast you had. We still have to eat though... We'll have something light, that won't make us feel all heavy but still filling, how does that sound? Good? Well, how about... A salad! Your dad is always telling me I should eat more salads. Does he tell you the same thing?"

"Yeah... But will it be a  _ good _ salad?"

"Of course it will! I've got years of experience in turning your dad's dietary suggestions into great meals, kiddo. Get ready for the best salad of your life. Now, what do you say, should we eat in the mess hall or would you rather eat in your quarters?"

"I don't wanna go back to quarters yet."

"The officers' mess it is then, let's go."

And so, Jo goes to pick a table while Jim grabs their salads, and soon enough they are eating what is indeed, the best salad of Jo's life.

"You're gonna have to give me the recipe. I would eat salad all the time if it was like this! Momma's salads are kinda boring."

"I'll get your dad to send it to you. Now tell me, how have you been liking my ship so far?"

"It's been great. Everyone I met was amazing, and you've got the coolest things up there. And, I get to hang out with Daddy every day. Well, except today, but every other day."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, but this surgery has been scheduled for months now. But I'm glad you're liking everything and everyone so far. I'm still the coolest person you know though, right?"

She smiles. "Hmm... I don't know, Spock is very cool too."

Jim leans back, gesturing dramatically. "No! How could he betray me like this! My First Officer! This is mutiny!" Jo breaks out laughing and Jim follows suit. "But now for real Jo, I'm glad you like him. He's great and he makes your dad happy, what more could we ask?"

"You make Daddy happy too. All of you do. I know he doesn't like space, but he's here because he wants to be. Because he's with all of you. He wouldn't be here if y'all weren't here."

"Not what I mean, but you're right."

"I'm always right Uncle Jim."

"Are you now, kiddo?"

"Yep."

"Well, you can't be all that right with that much salad still left. Look at mine, I'm almost done."

"You eat faster than I do, that's cheating!"

"Well then, you better hurry up squirt, because I'm a hungry Captain with a shift in twenty minutes."

* * *

They meet Chapel by the entrance to Medbay. Jim is quick to say goodbye and is off once again.

"Joanna, honey, you look lovely in blue!"

"Thank you, Miss Christine. Miss Nyota and Quartermaster Zilke helped me get the uniform."

"You're all ready to be a doctor and work with us here."

"No, actually. I gotta do my major in medicine first and I'm gonna do a minor in biology, I think."

Chapel looks impressed. "That's true, honey. Where did you learn that?"

"I asked Uncle Jim how he knew so much about engineering when he was a Captain and he explained it. He's really smart, did you know that?"

Chapel laughs. "Yes; there's been rumours that he was always in the top five percent in all his classes, so I wouldn't be surprised. Anyways, over here honey, come. We're staying in my office so we don't bother anyone else who's working around here. You can sit here, yes. Now. There's people working in Medbay, and there's patients resting and trying to get better, and there's people waiting for their friends and family to get better, okay? And I've got some paperwork to finish," She points at the PADDs on her desk. "So I'm going to give you a quick tour of Medbay, without bothering no one, and we're coming back here after that, okay? Your dad brought me your PADD when he came in this morning, so you'll have something to do."

"I won't bother no one, promise."

"I know you won't honey. But I still need you to stick by me." Jo nods. "Okay. great. Let's go."

After a quick look around ("These here are private consultation rooms," "that one there is the dentistry office," "these two are about main wards," "these two are surgery. Your dad's in there now." "This is the post-op monitoring room," "this is our main lab," "up there that's the intensive care unit," "this is the main on-shift office, where most nurses and doctors hang out when they don't have any patients to see. Say hi everybody, this is Joanna McCoy.") and meeting a lot of new faces they return to Chapel's office. They work in silence for a while, Chapel filing paperwork and Jo playing on her PADD, until Chapel notices Jo getting more and more restless.

"What do you say," she puts her PADD down, "if you come check on patients with me?"

Joanna looks up, excited. "Really? Yes please."

"I'm just going to give a quick look around in the main wards, check on the patients, see if they are comfortable, how are they feeling, if they need something else, things like that. Some of them may be sleeping, though, and I can't let you in if they don't want you there, but you can stay by the door and look in. It won't be a minute. How does that sound?"

"If they do let me in, can I take a look at their vitals?"

"If they agree to let you look then yes."

"Yeah!"

Visiting patients, checking their vitals, wishing them well; Jo is in her element. Her whole face changes, from the usual giddy smile and excited voice, to a focused look in her eyes and a more serious tone. Her hands stop fidgeting with the seams of her shirt and she even rolls her sleeves up a bit. Seeing her like this Chapel can only think of how similar she is to her father; the way he straightens up on his chair when talking with patients, the way he tells them, voice soft but clear, about illnesses and injuries and treatments, or how he narrates what he's doing or going to do as he examines them. And as Joanna goes on, from patient to patient, introducing herself and making conversation, she is very clearly her father's daughter.

("And you know what each of these readings mean?" "Yes! This is their blood pressure, which should be between... this range. This one is their respiration, which should be between this and this...") ("So you got an allergic reaction because your friend forgot you were allergic and you forgot to check for allergens? I'm so sorry Miss Lucretia, that must've been awful. I'm glad you're feeling better now. Here, do you want some more water?") ("Miss Christine, this patient's blood pressure is low..." "Wha—? Oh. That's normal for him, don't worry. Let's go before we wake him up.")

Once they finally get back to Chapel's office she sees clearly Jo's composed posture fall, her shoulders drop and the giddy smile comes back to her face. She does a little jumpy dance in place and turns back to look at her. "How did I do Miss Christine? Was that good? Did I do good?"

"Oh, honey. You did amazing! Come here, do you want a hug?" Jo nods and scrambles over.

"Thank you for letting me go with you, Miss Christine. It was really fun."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, honey. Maybe we can do another round later, before you go."

"Yes, please and thank you, Miss Christine."

"No need to thank me, honey. Now, I'm going to continue working through these," She motions towards her desk, "So why don't you take the couch and make yourself comfortable? You can take a nap and all if you want to. I'll wake you when Mister Spock comes to pick you up."

"Thank you, Miss Christine, but I'm not tired." Jo says, taking her PADD to the couch anyways, and by the time Spock shows up at Chapel's office over two hours later, Jo is fast asleep, PADD forgotten at her side.

"Oh, Mister Spock! Is it shift change already? I didn't notice. Jo's been asleep for a while, an hour maybe? Probably less than that. Here, let me wake her up... Jo, honey, wake up."

Jo begins to stir. "Hhm..."

"Mister Spock is here to pick you up, honey. You have to go. And I promise you next time you visit Medbay I'll take you to check on patients with me again."

She blinks her eyes open. "Hhm... But I wanted to see patients again..."

"And we can do that any other day, but now we don't want to keep Mister Spock waiting, do we? Come on, wake up. I'll go get you a glass of water, sounds good?"

"Yeah, please."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Jo sits up rubbing her eyes, feels around her looking for her PADD and catches sight of Spock. "Spock! Hi. Sorry I fell asleep, I'm ready, I'm ready." She sits up quickly.

"There's no need to rush, and nothing to apologize for. Take your time."

"Thanks... So, where are we goin'?"

"I believe Ensign Chekov offered to teach you how to play chess. If you wish, we can go meet with him now. If you would prefer not to do so at this time, we can go back to your father's quarters, or even to the science labs if you'd prefer that."

Jo shakes her head. "Chess sounds good."

Chapel comes back with water and they part quickly after that. Spock takes Jo to a rec room in Deck Six where Chekov is already waiting, both two- and three-dimensional chess boards set up. There are other people in the room, but no one looks at them twice.

The first thing Chekov does is show Jo each of the pieces and explain how they all move. He then shows her how they start set up on the board ("We're starting with two-dimensional chess. It's simpler.") and explains what the objective of the game is. He explains how to capture pieces and the idea of engineering opportunities for future moves, and then goes on to explain the complexity of strategies and different tactics that could apply. And finally he ends the lecture with a classic "invented in Russia" tale that Spock doesn't even bother correcting. (Spock won't admit it, but he's given up.) (Most people know it is usually false anyways.) (And Joanna is a smart kid, she'll figure it out.)

They play a game, Chekov pointing out moves Jo could make and strategies she could use, moving his own pieces in ways that allow her to see and apply different tactics, eventually letting her win. They play a second game, with Chekov reacting to Jo's game this time, instead of positioning his pieces for her to take, but with little offensive game on his part, allowing Jo to win a second time. And they play a third game, Chekov acting on the offence but not planning moves farther ahead than two or three turns, and allowing Jo to work on her defence. She loses the third round, but she loses it in high spirits.

"You did great, Jo! That was a very good game."

She smiles. "Thank you Pavel. Did I really do good?"

"You really did," he nods. "Isn't that right, Commander?"

Spock nods as well. "Indeed. For these being your first three games you showed a very analytical mind and you were able to formulate tactics and apply strategies taught to you very aptly."

"High praise! I agree; you really were great, Jo. With a little more practice, once I teach you some of the usual tactics you'll already be a real opponent. I'm sure you could win to your Pa before you leave the ship."

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

She drops back into her chair with a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Indeed." Jo turns to look at Spock. "Are you hungry Joanna? I believe it is dinnertime."

"Hmm, kinda, yea'. But I don't wanna leave, I wanna play another game."

"You can eat here," says Chekov.

"Great!"

"Well..." Chekov looks at Spock sheepishly. "We are allowed to eat and drink here, we even have replicators by that wall, see Jo? But we are... advised, to eat meals in the mess halls..."

Jo turns towards Spock. "Can I eat here Spock?"

Spock isn't avoiding Chekov's eyes, that would be illogical; he is just looking at Joanna and his eyes can only look at one place at a time. He also doesn't feel the urge to look around the room to check how many other people were there; that too, would be illogical. And finally, Spock doesn't sigh; that would've been very un-Vulcan of him. He doesn't even wish he could sigh, as that would also be illogical. Instead, he thinks of Leonard, and Joanna, and of everything he knows about Human children's health and nutrition. He very much does  _ not _ (he totally did) have the fleeting, illogical thought of "I'm blaming Chekov for this one," just before agreeing.

While Joanna eats her pasta, (an illogical choice, if you were to ask Spock, considering the time of day, the nutritional value, the time it took the Human digestive system to do its job, and Joanna's own circadian rhythm,) Chekov and Spock play a quick game, allowing Joanna to observe them.

After their game and after Jo's dinner she plays one more game against Chekov, with Spock giving her suggestions this time, and manages to win once again. Then, she turns to Spock. "It's your turn now."

"My turn?"

"Yeah, I gotta play against you now."

"I don't think—"

"What, are you scared?"

"Scared?"

"Yeah, scared you're gonna lose."

"I am not. Fear is illogical, especially fear for something like this; losing at chess."

Chekov tries very, very hard not to laugh.

"I think you're scared."

"I am not."

"Then prove it. Play against me."

Spock  _ does not _ sigh, and he  _ does not _ roll his eyes. "Your resemblance to your father is remarkable," he says as he starts setting up the board.

"Yes!” She celebrates, rushing to set her pieces as well. “I know. Mommy says I get all the stubbornness from Daddy, but he says not to believe her; that it's at least fifty-fifty."

Chekov finally breaks and lets his badly concealed laughter free.

They do play a game, Joanna and Spock. Spock proceeds to tell Jo what he's intending to accomplish with each of his moves, allowing her to sidestep traps and better plan her moves. After an intense fifty minutes (forty-seven point four) of concentration, the longest game she's played so far, it ends in a stalemate. Both Spock and Chekov seem much more enthusiastic about the fact than Jo herself feels, until Spock explains that actually, a stalemate is a pretty good result.

Especially when playing against Spock, Chekov is quick to add. "He's the best player on board, and he's won two Federation championships. You know how good you have to be for that, Jo? You have to be very, very,  _ very _ good.  _ I'm _ an amazing Chess Master and yet Commander Spock here wins most of the games we play."

"I have won sixty-four percent of games we have played, Mister Chekov, while you have won twenty-nine percent."

Chekov looks surprised. "Woah, really? That's more than I thought."

Spock doesn't smile, he doesn't. Luckily for him neither Jim nor Leonard are present to argue this fact. "You are an admirable opponent," he admits, quickly turning away. Chekov, similarly, looks down at the floor, face heating up and a radiant smile plastered on nonetheless. 

"D'you know how many times you've won against Daddy?" asks Joanna.

"In porcentages I've won at chess to your father ninety-one percent of the times we've played, with only two percent of our games ending in stalemates. But I have played against your father significantly less than against Mister Chekov."

"And Uncle Jim?"

"I have won against the Captain fifty-two percent of our finished games, and he won forty percent."

"Finished games?"

"Indeed. We are quite often interrupted; usually by emergencies, situations requiring one or the both of us, or urgent messages, among many other things. But we are the two highest ranking officers aboard, and I am also department head of Sciences; we have many responsibilities and we are both 'on call' as it were, all the time."

"Really? That must be hard."

"It is our duty." Spock replies simply as he finishes packing up the board and pieces back into its box, and stands up. "And my current duty is to ensure you are in bed at the appointed time by your father, so we must go."

"Wha—? No, Spock! It's not that late! And I'm having fun! And Daddy isn't here!"

"Lateness is a relative concept, especially in this case. And I'm relieved to hear you have enjoyed this time in my care. However, I must still ensure you rest appropriately, your father's presence notwithstanding."

Jo pouts. "Fine. Fine, let's go. Good-bye Pavel."

He waves. "Goodnight Jo. See you tomorrow Commander."

The walk back to Leonard's quarters is fast, with Joanna asking when her father will be off shift.

"Shift change will be in a—" He pauses, thinks better of giving specific time in minutes down to the decimal to a nine year old, and finishes, "in almost two hours."

"That's not long, I can stay awake for two hours."

Spock looks down at her. "You must sleep."

"Nuh-uh. Not until I see Daddy. I haven't seen him all day today Spock!" She walks up to the couch and drops herself into it. "We can put on a holo and time will pass faster that way!"

"That is—"

"Not how time works, I know." She interrupts. "But it's a thing; if humans occupy our minds then we tend to forget about the time and it feels like it goes by faster just because we were focused on something else. So, tell me, what kind of holofilms do you like?"

Spock walks up to the couch, stands behind it. "I don't usually watch..."

She turns at him, frowns. "Well, what were your favourites to watch as a kid?"

Learning to pick his battles was something his mother taught Spock. Knowing when to give up... "I always enjoyed watching documentaries as a child..."

"Documentaries!" She turns back to the screen. "I like them, I've seen some great ones. Hmm, let's see... What about? Space, biology and xenobiology, geo— Oh! Xenogeology! What else, what else? I feel like you're a biology documentary type of person, do you wanna watch a biology one?" She turned to look at him for another moment. "Yeah, we're goin' with biology. Let's see, let's see... Oh, this one looks interesting! It's comparing Earth aquatic mammals, whales especially, with other quasi-mammals from across the Federation that also reside mostly in fluids. Sounds interesting, right?"

Spock has to admit, "It... does."

"Great! We're watching this one." She looked back at him. "Are you stayin' there all night? Come sit with me. You can't watch a holo standin' up, you gotta be in a couch or bed; it's like, illegal otherwise."

"You  _ are _ aware that this is false."

"Yeah I am, Spock." She rolls her eyes. "Now come sit already."

When Leonard arrives at his quarters, having run off before his shift ended in hopes of catching Jo still awake, he finds his quarters dark, with a holo playing and two figures on the couch. One of them turns towards him as soon as he enters and says quietly, "Computer, lights fifteen percent."

Leonard approaches the couch and finds Spock sitting as straight as he does in vidcalls with the admiralty, and Joanna, fast asleep, with her head tilting to the side and her limbs all over the place, including her legs on Spock's lap.

"Evening, Leonard. Your shift hasn't ended yet."

"Hullo Spock. Nope but I wanted to see Jo before she went to bed..."

"Ah, I see... I—"

"You uncomfortable?"

"Pardon me?"

"With Jo all over you. Are you uncomfortable? Do you wanna move?"

"I am... Not uncomfortable."

"Great. You're stayin' there, then. I gotta get a holopic of this."

Leonard takes enough holos to fill "a 1940s Earth photographic album that your grandma would have" and then some more, sending a few to Jim immediately and making one the background image of his personal PADD.

"I'll send 'em to you later," he tells Spock, finally coming back towards them. "Careful she doesn't kick you," he warns before picking Joanna up, sitting down in her place and placing her on his lap.

"I was under the impression," Spock begins, while lifting his arm and allowing Leonard to lay into him. "That you intended for her to continue to sleep, on her bed ideally."

"True, but how often do I get to hold my baby like this?" He placed a kiss on her head.

Joanna, in the midst of being picked up and whatnot, begins to stir up.

"Daddy?" She opens her eyes to find herself on her father's lap, cuddled into his chest, and with her legs on Spock's lap. She gives a quick look around, at Spock's face and at the forgotten documentary and closes her eyes once more, leaning back into her father's arms.

"Hi baby. I missed ya' today."

"'M no baby... but missed ya' too Daddy..."

"Did you have fun today, darlin'?"

"Huh-uh. The best..." She murmurs into his chest. "'ent to engineerin' with Uncle Jim... And a replicator... And Medbay... Chess with Spock and Pavel... I won..."

"That sounds lovely darlin'. Go back to sleep, you can tell me all about it tomorrow. How's that sound?"

"Hmm... Love ya' Daddy." She says, breathing evening back out.

"I love you too, darlin'." And soon enough Jo is fast asleep once again.

After a few moments, "You should sleep as well," says Spock. "In your bed, too, ideally."

"Hmm, true. But I'm comfy here. I've got you and Jo and I don't wanna move."

"You're falling asleep."

"Maybe..." He admits. "Tell me about your day?"

"An uneventful Alpha shift on the Bridge, a productive Beta shift in the labs, and I spent most of the Gamma shift watching Chekov and Joanna play chess."

"That's nice. Was she as bad as I am?"

"She was remarkable, considering her age and short time spent learning the game."

"She played you?"

"We played a game, yes."

"And?"

"I explained to her the logic behind my moves as I made them and we ended the game in a stalemate."

"Really? She's good then." He hugs her a little tighter for a second before letting go. "We should go to bed."

"Yes."

"You stayin'?"

"Do you want me to stay?"

"Always."

Spock looks down at Joanna, and then back up at Leonard. "Then I am."

Leonard shifts away from Spock, allowing him to get up. "Help me up? I don't think I can stand up with Jo in my arms."

"May I hold her?"

"Yeah, here." He passes her into Spock's arms. "Hold her there— Yeah, that's right. You good?" He stands up.

"She isn't nearly as heavy as you or Jim are when unconscious."

"You are the worst. Just for that, you're carrying her to bed now. C'mon, here. Lay her down. There, thank you." He pulls the covers up to her chin. "Goodnight darlin'," he murmurs softly before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

He then turns to Spock. "C'mon, let's go to bed. I'm exhausted."

They quickly change into pajamas and go through their nightly routines; wiping off make-up, washing faces and brushing teeth, the whole thing, and soon enough they lay in bed.

"Alpha tomorrow?" asks Leonard.

"Yes, both of us. How was the surgery today?"

"Everything went as planned, no complications. They should be back in their quarters by the end of the week and back on shift soon enough."

"I am glad to hear so. Who's with Joanna during the Alpha shift tomorrow?"

"Sulu, he's taking her for breakfast too. I'm with her for lunch and Beta shift and I'm not sure about Gamma yet; I gotta be back at medbay then. I'll ask Jim or Uhura."

"I can take care of her."

Leonard opens his eyes and looks up at him. "I know you can, but do you want to?"

"I do. Joanna is a most interesting person; I enjoyed the time I've spent with her so far. She expressed she had fun today while she was under my care, and I was, and am, pleased to know that. And, she is your daughter."

"You are—" He huffs a laugh, closes his eyes and lays his head back down in Spock's chest. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"Didn't we have this conversation yesterday?"

"And we're still not done with that conversation," He pokes at Spock's side. "But not now, I'm tired. Tomorrow."

"Rest, Leonard. I shall be here when you wake up."

Leonard reaches up to press a kiss on Spock's cheek and leans back down into his pillow. "'Night Spock..."

"Good night Leonard."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how replicators work, so I made that up. I also know nothing about plants so I also made all that up in the previous chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

Leonard wakes the next morning before his alarm goes off and with the feeling that someone's watching him. It takes him a second to wake up enough to be able to tell where he is without opening his eyes, and when he does, he smiles.

"Didn' I tell you it's creepy when you watch me sleep?"

"You did, and then you said you liked it regardless."

"Hmm, I did, didn't it?"

"You did. Good morning Leonard."

Leonard opens his eyes. He's lying on his front with his head turned to the side (awful for his back and neck, he knows, but he finds it the most comfortable position and considers it worth the pains) and at his side lies Spock, now laying on his side, looking at him.

"Mornin' Spock."

"There's still seven point four minutes until your alarm goes off."

"Hmm, seven minutes is good." He turns to his side, leans forward and wraps an arm around Spock, presses a kiss to his clothed shoulder, and rests his head against Spock's. "How'd ya' sleep?"

"I rested adequately. What about you Leonard?"

"You were right next to me, weren't you? 'T was good."

"I am pleased to hear so."

They share the silence for a few minutes. They share a pillow and blankets, and body heat, and air, and silence. But as much as they would like to, they can't stay in bed forever.

"We gotta get up, don't we?"

"We do."

"Well, fine. But just 'cause I wanna kiss ya' and I need to brush my teeth before I do."

"A most admirable reason to get out of bed."

"Don' make fun of me, it's too early for that. Brush your teeth first, I wanna pee."

And so, they get out of bed. They brush their teeth, wash their faces and relieve themselves, they share a quick kiss and Leonard checks on Joanna, who is still deep asleep. Leonard takes a shower while Spock prepares breakfast, and once they have both eaten Leonard stands by the door to the bathroom watching Spock methodically pick up their shaving and make-up supplies. The only products they share are their shaving cream and eyeshadow palette, but Leonard had tired of either him or Spock going back to his room to shave and apply his make-up so often that he'd bought a second pair of just about everything Spock stored in his shared bathroom with Jim, and a few doubles of his own things to store in Spock's bathroom as well. Same thing had happened with their clothes, even before that, and now they both have a few extras of everything in each other's closets.

"Do you intend to continue staring at me rather than joining me and getting ready as well?" Spock asks, looking at him through the mirror.

Leonard smiles and shows no intention of moving. "I like lookin' at you."

"You still need to shave."

"Didn't you say you liked me with a beard?"

Spock raises an eyebrow. "I don't recall ever saying that."

"I'm pretty sure you were high on painkillers." He laughs. "After the Sennah VI mission?"

And the second eyebrow joins the first. "Ah, yes. When you spent a week barely sleeping and eating, so much so that you were unable to operate on the Captain yourself when we returned."

"Don't be an ass. I was worried about you two. But more importantly, I didn't  _ shave _ for a week either. And you, high, rather liked me with a beard."

Spock finishes washing off the shaving cream and turns to look at him. "I always like you, beard or no beard."

Leonard breaks into a grin and finally moves into the bathroom. However, instead of going to shave, he goes to Spock. He puts his hands on Spock's hips, and Spock's hands instinctively rise to his back. He looks up at Spock and leans into him, presses a kiss to the freshly shaven skin of his cheek, another one higher on his cheekbone, under his ear, on his jaw, lower on his jaw, high on his neck—

"Leonard."

He smiles into Spock's neck, talks into it. "Yes Spock?" And Spock pulls back, just enough to look him in the eye. "Okay, fine. Alpha shift, yeah. Can I still get a kiss though?"

Spock leans back in and kisses him. Lightly, lips on lips, a hint of tongue, and then he's gone. "Good morning, Leonard."

He smiles. "Now it is."

Once they're both ready and Joanna awake and changed back into her blue uniform, they leave all together.

"So Mister Hikaru wants to have breakfast with me?"

"Yeah, I'm taking you back to where we ate with him, remember?"

"The picnic, yeah."

"Yes, the picnic. He said he was bringing a book he wanted to show you. A real paper book, apparently."

"Really? That's so cool!"

"Yes, but don't forget to eat breakfast too, eh?"

"Yes Daddy."

"Good. And then I'm picking you up again for lunch."

"Yeah! Can we play chess then, Daddy? I wanna see if I beat you. Pavel and Spock said I could."

Leonard looks at Spock. "Did they now?" He laughs. "We'll see." And as they reach the corner they part ways. "We'll see you later, Spock." He then drops Joanna off with Sulu in Deck Seventeen and heads to Medbay.

Sulu was waiting for Joanna with an old looking paper book on the table. It has a faded red cover and the pages yellowing with the particular tint of late- twenty first century paper. 

"This," he began to explain after they'd had breakfast, "is an old botanical notebook that belonged to an Earth gardener. The special thing about this book is that gardening was what the author did in her free time. She worked as an astrobiologist, which at that time was different than it is today; back then the main question was whether life outside of Earth existed, and if it did how could Humans detect it with the technology they had at the time. And the interesting thing about this book is that Doctor Schwatz—that's her name—in her free time not only was a gardener, but she liked to sketch what she imagined plant-based life to be outside of Earth. She would theorise possible environments and what she imagined, with all her intellectual background, the plant life to be. She did all this work in her free time and never published anything about it until her old age, after First Contact, in hopes of someone proving her theories right in the future. This," He points at the book again, "is one of those copies, one made to look as similar to the original as possible; replicating her handwriting and with all her beautiful illustrations, and today you and I are going to prove her right."

Joanna's eyes look ready to pop out of her skull. Her mouth hanging open, eyes  _ wide _ , clinging to every word Sulu says. She nods excitedly, her hair bouncing with the force of it. She's extremely careful with the book, going as far as asking if they shouldn't be wearing gloves.

Sulu laughs. "We don't need to, but we can if you want to. Or, I have a digital version of the book in my PADD, if you'd rather not chance it with the real deal?"

They end up settling for gloves. They carefully go through the book, stopping at each description that sounds familiar and looking up similarities in the Federation's database. From those Sulu compiles a list of the specimens they have onboard and once they're done going through the book they spend hours going to each specimen and comparing it to the notes Doctor Schwatz made theorizing about it.

It's not the most interesting thing in the world, to Sulu, and he  _ knows _ it's been done before; it was an article he read about the topic that prompted him to buy the book in the first place. But Joanna is fascinated. Her eyes shine even as she frowns in concentration, taking in the words and diagrams from the yellowing pages. She can't seem to wipe the unconscious smile that keeps coming back to her face as she leans in close to inspect each plant and then goes back to check the old book, all while she takes note of everything on her PADD. And Sulu can't bring himself to find the whole thing boring; not with how much Joanna is loving it. Not with the excited exclamations she makes with each similarity found between the plants they have and the notes from Doctor Schwartz, and not with the way she hugs him and thanks him for showing her the book when Doctor McCoy comes pick her up for lunch.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mister Hikaru! I— I had a lot of fun! Doctor Schwartz was amazing! She got a lot of things right, all even before First Contact! She— I— Thank you!"

"Nothing to thank me for, Jo. If anything I should thank you for being such a good partner for today's investigation, you did great. I sent you a copy of the digital version to your PADD, you got it?"

"Yes, thank you Mister Hikaru."

Leonard steps in. "You ready to go Jo? Sulu's got a shift to get to, and aren't you hungry? Tell me what's got you so excited over lunch." Jo immediately takes her PADD out and starts telling the doctor all about their morning and Sulu watches them go with a smile on his face.

* * *

Joanna and Leonard grab a quick lunch from the officers' mess and then grab a two-dimensional chess set from the closest rec room. They spend the afternoon playing chess, talking, catching up, enjoying each other's company. It has been too long since they'd seen each other last, and they don't know when they will see each other again; would it be when the  _ Enterprise _ 's five year mission ends and Leonard returns to earth in two years? Or will Joanna be able to visit again before then? And while neither of them want to think about it, there is still a tiny voice in their heads asking; with how dangerous space is, will this be the last time they ever see each other?

Thankfully, the thoughts pass quickly, as does time it seems, because soon enough it's fifteen minutes until shift change and they have to get going.

"I'm takin' you to the science labs where Spock is." Leonard shoves his comm back in his pocket after reading Spock's message. "And when it's bedtime tonight I want you to go to bed, okay darlin'? No waiting on the couch for me, then I gotta carry you to bed and it'll hurt my back."

In the lab Spock invites her to sit by his side and lets her look at some samples through the microscope, to which she starts taking notes in her PADD and to which Spock asks if she wants to learn how to fill a standard lab report. They end up staying in the lab for almost an hour instead of the twenty minutes Spock had anticipated, with him pausing his work to teach Jo about lab reports and to look for more samples for her and explaining how to use the microscope correctly.

Once they do leave the lab they head to the officers' mess for dinner, where Jo insists on trying a Vulcan dish once again. They settle for  _ t'mirak _ rice with (mostly Terran, but there's also  _ plomeek _ ) veggies.

Over dinner Jo tells Spock about her morning with Sulu and about Doctor Schwartz, which he finds as interesting as she did and promises he'll look more into it. Jo then asks about the experiments they have going on in the labs and that fills the rest of the conversation until they get back to Leonard and Joanna's quarters. Once there, Joanna proposes they watch another documentary and they end up playing chess instead. They play in relative silence, Jo focussing on the game too much to make conversation. She's waiting for Spock to make his move, already planning what to move next herself, when he speaks up instead.

"Are you aware I am in a committed romantic relationship with your father?"

Joanna looks up, surprised. Spock's still looking at the board, as if he were thinking about what move to make, and maybe he is, but Joanna's forgotten all about the game already. "You mean you're datin' Daddy? Yeah, I know."

It's not the information what surprised her, but rather that Spock is talking about it with her.

Spock looks up. "You... do?"

"Yeah." She nods. She thinks for a moment and decides she's going to take advantage of the conversation, now that it's happening. "Are you dating Uncle Jim too? Either you, or Daddy, or both? That one I'm not clear about."

Spock almost looks surprised, Jo thinks. Maybe his eyebrows positioned like that are as much surprise as a Vulcan expresses, she thinks.

"No. Neither your father nor me are in a romantic relationship with Jim. He is, however, of great importance to the two of us."

"Yeah, I noticed that." She nods and looks back down at the chess board, trying to remember what she was planning.

After a few moments of silence, Spock talks once more. "Are you... Do you wish to ask me anything about this?"

Jo looks back up at him. "About you datin' Daddy?" Spock nods. "Nah, not really. You make him happy, I don't need to know nothing more. Actually..." She pauses. "Does he make  _ you _ happy?"

Spock pauses at that. Thinks. Thinks how to explain to a nine year old what he could not put into words for her father. Thinks about how it would be appropriate for him as a Vulcan to answer the question and then thinks about how he  _ wants _ to answer. What he wants Joanna to know.

He decides a simple answer shall be enough.

"Spending time with you father has been one of the most emotional fulfilling things I've done in my entire life, and I wish to continue doing so for as long as I can, and as long as he wants to spend time with me."

It takes Jo a moment before she nods. "That's sweet. Just make sure I get a good seat at the wedding, if you ever get married." And she looks back down at the game.

"I— We—" Spock pauses, breathes. He settles on a simple answer, once again. "If we do, you will," he promises.

"Great. That's it, then." And she points to the board. "It's your turn. Stop tryin' to distract me; I won't forget what I'm plannin' to beat you."

* * *

Leonard returns to his quarters after his shift to find Spock working on his desk and Joanna asleep on her bed, a two-dimensional chess set waiting on it's box on the table to be returned to the rec room and his dinner order already inputted to the replicator.

"Thank you," he says, coming up to Spock and pressing a kiss to his lips when he looks up. "I'm gonna shower first, dinner after that. You ate with Jo earlier?"

Spock leans into Leonard's side as Leonard's arm comes to rest around his shoulders. "Yes, but I will accompany you through your meal nonetheless. Go shower, I will finish this in the meantime."

After the shower Leonard replicates himself dinner and Spock follows him to the table. "So, tell me about your day?"

"I had an unremarkable Alpha shift on the Bridge; the Captain was late again. And an unremarkable Beta shift in the science labs until Joanna arrived. I taught her how to use the microscopes and fill lab reports, at her request, and she analyzed samples for close to forty minutes. We then had dinner; she tried  _ t'mirak _ rice and seemingly liked it. And afterwards we came here, played chess and she retired to sleep at 2100 hours ship time as you indicated."

"I said that at the latest, she could've gone to bed earlier." He rolls his eyes.

"She seemed insistent on postponing sleep as much as she could."

"Yeah, that's human kids for you; never wantin' to sleep. After that they become teenagers and they sleep either four or fourteen hours a night for like a decade. And after that they become adults with sleeping problems. Just look at Jim." He gestures vaguely with one hand.

"The Captain does have a tendency of getting less rest than appropriate..."

Leonard laughs. "You can say that again."

They lapse into comfortable silence then, as Leonard finishes his dinner, cleans up, and they move to the couch. "Wanna listen to somethin'?" Leonard settles into Spock's side and gestures to the entertainment system.

They are both more listeners or readers than watchers. Leonard has always preferred listening rather than watching, and even reading on occasions, as it allows him to multitask better not having to focus his sight or hands to consume media. He seeks it out even, when he has the option to listen rather than read or watch, with few exceptions. Spock for his part, prefers reading over listening in many cases, but he's come to appreciate the audible medium during his acquaintance with Leonard. So now sometimes, when they have some free time, when it isn't too late, when they don't need to wake up early the next morning, sometimes they will listen to something together. Books, sometimes; always looking for something new that appeals to their shared tastes. Music, occasionally; trying out new sounds from all around the galaxy. And audio-shows, more often than not; of varying themes and topics, newer and older—there is so much for them to try. They have few favourites, however.

" _ Sawbones _ ," suggests Spock, not quite a question.

_ Sawbones _ is a show from early 21st century Earth, where a medical doctor and historian from the time explained to her husband and the audience the ways humans had tried to 'medically' help each other through the ages, explained which things worked and which didn't and why, and then compared it to what was medically accepted in her time. It had been a running show for almost twenty years and it had exactly a thousand episodes, around an hour long each. Leonard has what Jim calls a 'medical crush' on Doctor Sydnee McElroy and considers her brilliant, and he always enjoys telling Spock about the medical advances from her time on to now, explaining what he knew and looking up what he wasn't sure about.

Leonard is quick to agree and they spend the rest of their evening that way, listening and talking until they finally decide to go to bed.

After a few minutes lying in bed, Spock breaks the silence. "I spoke with Joanna today."

"I'd sure hope so; you spent the evening together." Leonard turns to his side. "But I'll bite. What about?"

"About our romantic relationship."

Leonard all but chokes on air and his own saliva. "Well, damn." He coughs. "Tell me more, then."

"I asked if she was aware of our romantic relationship; she said she was. She asked if we—either me, you, or the both of us— were dating Jim. She then stated that I made you happy and asked if you made me happy as well; and finally she asked for a good seat at our wedding, were we ever to get married."

"Damn, that girl is good. Were you okay?"

"If you're asking whether I could handle the conversation, I believe I did so just fine. You may still wish to speak to her about the topic, however, considering she is your daughter."

"I'll talk to her later, yeah..." He nods.

Spock turns to better look at him. "What's on your mind, Leonard?"

He hesitates. "I was thinking... I keep thinking about the other night. What you said. I felt you, you know? For the first time, I felt you. The thing Jim said? Pins and needles, tingling? That. Except it wasn't like that at all."

"Yes. I... I apologize for that. I didn't realize— I wasn't—"

"Hey, no. No apologies." Leonard is quick to interrupt. "It wasn't bad, you did nothing wrong. It was new. Weird, unexpected, but not bad. A good weird, actually. But it's just— That whole thing, not just the— Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Spock frowns. "I do not."

Leonard shakes his head. "It's— What was that, the other day? Was it a mind meld?"

"No. Not intentionally, at least. A very surface level meld at most, little else than emotional transmission."

Leonard's eyes widen. " _ That _ was surface level? I— Woah..." He pauses for a moment, organising his thoughts. "I want to meld with you, for real. Not now, not today. But, someday. Is that okay?"

Spock nods, face softening. "Very much so. I too wish to meld with you as well."

Leonard blows a breath out. "And... What you said, before the meld. Me too. I love you. And I say that I love you, and I do. But you're right. Human languages are imprecise.  _ Humans _ are imprecise. Feelings are imprecise. And I'm not good with words, you know this already. But— But I love you and—"

Spock closes the gap between them and kisses Leonard, cutting him off. Leonard melts into the kiss, into Spock, knowing that words aren't needed between them sometimes and it isn't because of Spock's telepathy. They know each other,  _ understand _ each other. And right then and there, as they kiss softly in bed, they both know how they feel for each other, there is no need to say a thing. As they finally pull apart, they breathe heavy breaths into each others' faces; foreheads touching, hands woven together.

They stay silent, sharing the moment, sharing air, sharing their company, until Leonard pulls back and lays his head back on the pillow. "Okay," he says. "Okay. We will... We'll talk about this later, alright? We'll talk about the meld and this later. Okay?"

Spock lays back into the pillow as well. "Yes," he agrees.

They lapse into silence once more after that, until Leonard breaks it once again. "Tomorrow is Jo's last day here... She leaves the day after, after lunch."

Spock nods. "Yes." He hesitates. "How do you... feel about it?"

"I don't know," Leonard sighs. "I'm beyond happy I got to see her, to spend a week with her, that she came here and met you and everyone else and that she had a good time. I still don't know how you and Jim managed to arrange this but it's amazing.  _ Thank you _ , really." Spock shakes his head but doesn't interrupt. "On the other hand, I'm gonna miss her like crazy once she's gone, but that's not new." They both know this.

"What is the plan for tomorrow?" Spock asks instead.

Leonard yawns. "I've got Alpha shift in the med lab so Jo's spending her morning with Jim I think, or Uhura, he said he'd tell me by breakfast. I'm picking her up for lunch and Jim told me he's taking care of dinner and refused to give me any details on what he's planning. And the day she leaves I've got only Delta shift so I'm with her until she leaves. I don't know what we're gonna do, but not much probably."

Spock is almost surprised Leonard manages to answer without falling asleep mid sentence, especially considering how much he's yawning. He doesn't even argue when Spock encourages him to sleep already and falls asleep minutes later. Spock takes a moment to look at Leonard; his chest rising and falling, before following suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Apparently they don't have a futuristic sounding word for microscopes in Star Trek, I checked. They have futuristic-looking microscopes, but they're still called microscopes.  
> 2\. [Sawbones is a real podcast](https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/sawbones/), by Doctor Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin McElroy (best known for his other podcast My Brother My Brother And Me) and is, as described in their website "Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine. Every Friday, they dig through the annals of medical history to uncover all the odd, weird, wrong, dumb and just gross ways we've tried to fix people over the years. Educational? You bet! Fun? We hope!"  
> Sydnee really is a doctor but she isn't a historian, and the show has been going on since 2013 and has ~350 episodes so far, but who knows about the future right? anyways, it's a really good show and I really really recommend it.  
> 3\. All the vulcan foods mentioned are taken from [this list of Vulcan foods from Memory Beta](https://memory-beta.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Vulcan_foods).


	5. Chapter 5

By the time Leonard's shift is over he's convinced himself that he's ready for the conversation he's about to have, and by the time he's facing his daughter with their lunches' half eaten he's firmly back in 'I can't do this' territory. He waits until she's finished telling him about her morning not because he's procrastinating, but because it would be rude otherwise. And then he waits until they're sitting in a desolated Observation Room not because he's procrastinating, but because privacy would be better for this conversation. And then he waits until they've finished their first game of checkers because yes, maybe he is procrastinating a bit.

He brings it up before Jo can decide between a second game of checkers or a game of chess.

"So," he starts. "Spock said you two talked..."

Joanna gives him an unimpressed stare. "Yes Daddy, we talked. We talked every day I've been here so far."

"Don't sass me darlin', sarcasm is only allowed once you're a teenager." She looks away but he knows she's rolling her eyes at him. "I meant, you talked about... our relationship? Mine with Spock I mean"

"Oh, that. Yeah, he said."

"Look at me Jo?" He asks and she looks up. "You know I love you, right darlin'?"

She tilts her head, confused. "Yes Daddy."

"You're my baby and you always will be," he says.

"I know Daddy."

"And you know I loved your mom very much when we were together, right?"

"Yes Daddy."

"Good." He nods. "I want you to know that me loving Spock doesn't make any of those things any less true, okay? I still loved your mom and I still love you and you will always be my darlin' baby, okay?"

"Yes Daddy, I know. I'm not dumb." They both laugh, Leonard shaking his head.

"Besides," Jo adds, "I like Spock.  _ You _ like Spock. He makes you happy and you make him happy. And everyone I asked said Spock cares for you and treats you well, so it's fine by me."

Leonard widens his eyes. "Who did you ask that?"

"I'm not tellin'," she smiles. "I can't give you all my secrets now, can I?"

"I swear I don't know where you get all this sass from," he laughs, letting go of the conversation and promising not to go easy on her at chess.

* * *

It isn't until many games later that Leonard's comm finally gets a message from Jim. It reads: " _ obs room 3, dk 5, 1900hs. dont be early. _ "

Following Jim's instructions Joanna and Leonard arrive at 1902 hours and find the Observation Room Three surprisingly less crowded than Leonard expected. Even more surprising and even more unexpected, however, is the bright magenta holo-banner hanging on one of the walls reading "HAPPY BIRTHDAY".

Leonard walks in, looks around, let's go of Joanna's hand and turns around and starts walking back out.

"Wait! No, Bones—!"

"Daddy, don't—!"

Jim runs up to Leonard and both him and Joanna each grab him at the same time, one arm each.

"You're not running anywhere Bones! We told you Jo being here was your birthday gift!"

Leonard sighs. "My birthday isn't for another two months Jim." He tries to shake him off. "And let go of me Jim, goddammit."

"Awww, don't get grumpy on us, c'mon! We're having a nice dinner, just some of your closest friends and your beautiful darling daughter." Jim starts leading them back in and smiles at Joanna who beams back.

"Yeah Daddy," she says. "Don't be grumpy."

As those within hearing range laugh and as Leonard mutely curses Jim out with kid-appropriate language considering Joanna is standing right next to him, Spock approaches.

"I'm bein' attacked Spock. By my best friend and my own daughter, can ya' believe?"

Spock raises an eyebrow. "Indeed, I can."

Giving up Leonard allows himself to be led to the table, where he is met with various birthday wishes that no complaining about "it isn't my birthday, goddammit" stops.

They have dinner, they have cake, there is music and Joanna dances with just about everyone, there are chess sets and she plays a few games as well, and the hours pass before she finally crashes and falls asleep sitting right where she is. Leonard eats dinner, half a piece of cake and then tries to prevent Joanna from eating half the cake by herself. He dances four times (Jo, Chapel, Jim and Jo again), plays half a game of chess and then retires to a chair in a corner and allows Jo to take the spotlight. (It is her farewell party after all. His birthday is just a convenient excuse, he knows this and so does every other adult in the room. And Chekov, who's adulthood is arguable, in Leonard's opinion.)

He is about to go rescue his daughter from the chair she's fallen asleep in, preventing her from falling out of it, when Chapel does it for him, sitting in the chair next to Jo's and pulling her up to her side, arm around her shoulders. Content knowing his daughter is in no danger, Leonard lets his eyes wander. The conversation that Jo fell asleep in is the one Chapel now joins with Uhura and Sulu. Chekov is playing a game of chess with M'Benga and talking with nurses Flynn and Laurens. Jim and Scotty are telling a story to their captive audience that is a group of medical staff and Spock... Spock stands alone by the wall, looking around like Leonard is. His eyes fall to Joanna and stay there for a few moments longer before they move on, eventually meeting Leonard's. ' _ Come here _ ,' Leonard thinks, and Spock must've heard him because he does; he crosses the room, eyes never leaving Leonard's, and as soon as he sits they both shift their chairs closer until their arms and knees are touching.

"Enjoying the evening?" Spock asks, vaguely gesturing to the room at large.

Leonard hums. "Yeah. I just..." He looks over at Joanna, sleeping all but in Chapel's lap while a whispered conversation happens above her. "She's leaving tomorrow."

"She is," Spock says, and Leonard doesn't miss the sadness in his tone. He lifts his hand to Spock's knee and gives it a light squeeze of reassurance. ' _ I'm here _ ,' ' _ you're not alone _ ,' he means. Spock understands, of course he does, lifting his own hand to Leonard's, clasping them together for a moment and then letting it drop once again.

As time goes on people start to leave, everyone stopping by Leonard to wish him a happy birthday before parting. Chapel eventually leaves as well, not before bringing Joanna over who barely stirs as she settles into her father's lap. Spock gets up at one point, to help tidy up, and insists that Leonard stay with Joanna. Once everything is spotless, tables and chairs back in their places, Spock picks Joanna up and Leonard finally stands and stretches his legs.

They are the last ones left, Leonard, Joanna, Spock and Jim. They head back to their quarters and Jim stops Leonard before he could enter his. Spock goes in to put Joanna down in her bed, leaving the two of them alone.

"Was that fine Bones?" Jim asks, uncharacteristically nervous.

"What was?"

"All of it. The dinner party, but also this week. Joanna coming here. All of it."

"What do you mean fine Jim? It was amazing. I got to see my baby for a full week. She had the time of her life. Everyone was really helpful, you and Spock especially. It was amazing Jim.  _ Thank you, _ really."

He smiles. "Nothing to thank me for, Bones. Happy birthday." And Leonard, smiling brightly, doesn't even argue that it isn't his birthday as they part each to their quarters.

After going through his nightly routine, his feet guide Leonard to Joanna's room instead of his own. He stands in the doorway watching her chest rise and fall, basking in her presence and having his daughter close. If it weren't for Spock approaching him some twenty minutes later it's possible he would've spent the night like that.

Spock does approach, however, and prevents this. He walks up to Leonard and stands behind him for a moment, waiting to be acknowledged in any way. Leonard lifts a hand and leans back a bit, prompting Spock to step forward until his chest meets Leonard's back and his hand finds Leonard's. His chin comes to rest to Leonard's shoulder and his other hand to his hip. Leonard leans back into his chest even more, eyes never leaving Joanna's resting form.

"We oughta sleep, don't we?" he asks eventually, a whisper.

"We do, yes. But I understand why you'd wish to stay here and watch your daughter instead."

Leonard tilts his head, looks up at Spock. "You do, don't you?" He sighs and turns around to face him. "You really care about her." It's not a question.

"Yes," Spock answers anyways.

He sighs. "C'mon, let's go to bed."

They leave Joanna's room but before they reach their own bed Leonard kisses Spock. And they kiss and they kiss and they kiss. Leonard kisses Spock because he loves him, and Spock kisses back because he loves Leonard as well. And they kiss because Joanna is leaving the next day and because Spock has come to care about her like Leonard does. And then they kiss some more because they don't need a reason to kiss each other anymore. Reason fades away while they're kissing, and it doesn't matter  _ because _ they're kissing.

In the end, sleep comes to them easier than either expected that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally every name I used for minor background characters is inspired by the many other fandoms I'm in except for like that one unnamed ensign, Zilke and Schwartz. If someone wants to try and find the other six and guess what characters/fandoms they're based on go ahead but I warn you it's probably very difficult bc only one has both name and last name mentioned lol. (Let me know your guesses in the comments! Or ask me and I'll tell you lol)


	6. Chapter 6

Joanna's last breakfast aboard the  _ Enterprise _ is a quiet affair. Not a bad quiet. The atmosphere is slightly sad, a bit resigned, but there's also pancakes and Joanna is pressed against her father's side while Spock tells the tale of some mission or other and it feels... It feels like family.

It  _ is _ family, they realize, the three of them over the course of that breakfast. Leonard first, when he notices that Spock is genuinely smiling and allowing Joanna to see, and that Joanna has stopped eating and is looking at Spock the same way she's always looking at him; with bright eyes, an easy smile and easier laugh that comes out as high pitched giggling. Joanna realizes next, when her usual  _ 'I wish I could see Daddy more often' _ presents itself as  _ 'I wish I could see Daddy and Spock more often' _ that morning. And finally, Spock. To Spock the realization comes as a memory. It's when Joanna steals a bite of her father's toast and in retaliation he tries to steal a bite of her pancakes, when Joanna screeches, grabs her plate and runs to the other side of the table giggling, and when Leonard, laughing, offers Spock a bright smile and his hand, middle and index fingers extended. The memory is one of his childhood, when he was three point six-two years of age; his mother had prepared some  _ soltar _ fruit for him to break his fast and then proceeded to take a bite from his plate in an attempt to get him to eat. He remembers frowning at her, telling her it was illogical to take food from his plate when she had food on hers already, and when she smiled and attempted to take another piece of his, he took his plate and moved to the free chair on the other side of the table. He remembers her laughing then, and reaching to take his father's hand. Spock looks at the scene in front of him, he thinks back to this memory of his own childhood and of his parents, and with this in mind he moves his hand to meet Leonard's halfway.  _ Family. _

* * *

Soon after breakfast Spock leaves with a flimsy excuse Leonard sees right through, but he understands Spock wanting to leave the two of them alone for their last few hours together.

Leonard helps Joanna pack and then they decide to lounge on the couch until lunchtime. Leonard sits first and Joanna curls up at his side and they spend the morning talking and enjoying each other's presence.

"I'm gonna miss you Daddy."

He presses a kiss to her hair. "I'm gonna miss you too darlin'. So, so, so much. But I'm glad you got to visit and we could spend some time together. And we will still talk every few days darlin', I can even call me often if you want."

"Yeah but it's not the same Daddy."

"I know it's not, I'm so sorry darlin'." He hugs her closer.

"Are you cryin' Daddy?"

"A bit, yeah."

"Oh. Me too."

* * *

Lunch is a quiet affair once again, just the two of them. It's a bit somber, dreading the separation to come, but they choose to ignore it and have one last enjoyable meal while they are together.

At 1432 hours shiptime Jim arrives at their quarters and it's time to leave. He takes them to the usually empty rec room by the hangar bay, now packed with just about everyone Joanna's met aboard the  _ Enterprise. _ One by one they say goodbye and leave the room until there's only a handful of people left.

Quartermaster Zilke approaches Joanna next, and hands her a bag. "It's so you have the matching set, all three of them now. And just in case Command becomes more appealing down the line," they sneak a look at the Captain.

Joanna opens the bag and pulls out of it a yellow copy of the blue shirt she's currently wearing, with a Starfleet insignia as well. "Thank you! Thank you so much! Can I hug you?" As they hug, Zilke looks over Joanna's shoulder to find the Captain smiling, and Doctor McCoy nodding at them with a smile. They bid Joanna safe travels and exit the room content in the knowledge that their parting gift was a good one.

Sulu approaches next with a hug and a promise to tell her about all the new plant life they find in future missions. Then there's Chekov with a hug and a high five. Scotty gives her a high five and shakes her hand. Chapel gives her a hug and so does Uhura, in addition to the blue nail polish she gifts her.

One by one they filter out of the room until the only ones left in addition to Joanna and her father are Spock and the Captain. That's when they move over to the hangar bay, where Joanna's transport shuttle is already waiting and ready to take off.

Jim says goodbye first. He promises to keep her father out of trouble and asks her to get into some. "It's good for kids to get into some trouble. You break some rules and I'll tell you how funny your dad's reactions are, deal?" he says.

Leonard is about to interrupt when he sees Joanna roll her eyes. "I don't know how you made it to captain Uncle Jim," she says, to which Jim acts offended. It takes a few more minutes of banter until he finally lets go, with a hug, a kiss to her head, a "but seriously, be good squirt" and a "love you too."

Spock comes next. "I shall miss you," he says.

"I'll miss ya' too Spock. You take good care of Daddy, okay?"

"I always try to."

"Good, that's good." She looks at her father and back at Spock. "Can I hug you?"

He opens his arms in invitation and Joanna immediately burrows herself into his chest. Spock lightly places a hand on the back of her head and rubs circles onto her back with the other, the same repetitive motion that so often brings her father comfort, in hopes of offering the same comfort to her.

She finally pulls back after a few moments and wipes away the tears. "Sorry for crying into your shirt," she says.

"There's nothing to apologize for."

"I— Take care Spock, of yourself too, not just Daddy or Uncle Jim."

"I will."

"Okay, thank you. I—" She hesitates for a second and then hugs him again. She murmurs the words into his chest, unaware of his superior hearing picking them up. "I love you," she whispers. He hugs her tighter for a moment and let's go.

"I shall speak to you soon, Joanna," he says as parting words, and steps back.

Jim comes out of the shuttle then. "I put your bags in there already Jo. It's all set to go."

Leonard nods. "Thanks Jim." He holds out a hand to Joanna. "Let's go, I'll walk you inside and to your seat." Joanna grabs his hand and together they walk into the shuttle, not before she waves back at Jim and Spock one last time.

Leonard fusses over her and Jo let him, if nothing else so they can have a few extra minutes before they have to part. She reassures him that yes, she has everything, yes, she's read the safety protocols and knows what to do in case of emergencies, and yes, she will comm him as soon as she lands on Starbase 41 and as soon as she lands on Earth. Sadly, not even Leonard McCoy can fuss forever, and the time to say goodbye arrives.

Joanna has been valiantly holding her tears since she let go of Spock, but now as they stand in silence for a moment, both knowing they can't delay their departure anymore, her tears start to fall anew.

"Oh baby, no. I'm sorry, come here." Leonard pulls her into a hug. "It's gonna be fine darlin', I'll call you twice as often as before if you want. I'm so sorry Jo, I'm gonna miss you so much." He's crying too, and she's sobbing into his chest now.

It takes a while, but thankfully no one interrupts them. By the time Joanna is back on her seat with her face mostly dry of tears, they have both said the last "I love you's" about thirty times each. They both say one more last "I love you" and then another one, and then Leonard finally heads off the shuttle and back into the hangar bay. If there are tears on his eyes no one mentions it, and if anyone sees Commander Spock hold a sobbing Doctor McCoy in a hug they look the other way, and if anyone catches a glimpse of a red-faced tear-stained Doctor McCoy in between the Captain and Commander Spock on a hallway as they walk back to their quarters they surely must've imagined it.

No one in medbay is surprised when the Captain comms them to excuse Doctor McCoy out of his Delta shift that evening, but it comes as a surprise to those in the science department that Commander Spock is excused out of his Alpha shift in the labs the next day, and that he actually doesn't show up, especially because he's known to show up to shifts fresh out of medbay even with explicit orders prohibiting from doing so.

* * *

And like so, ends Joanna McCoy's first visit to the  _ Enterprise. _ The first of many, and which would set a precedent for future visits for many other kids to their families aboard ships all over the Federation.

Joanna would visit again once more before the end of their mission, and then another four times during the  _ Enterprise's _ second five year mission under Captain James T. Kirk. There are stories to tell about each of those visits, but this one has been told.

**_The end._ **


	7. Epilogue

"Happy birthday Daddy!" The excited scream comes as soon as the vidcall connects.

"Hello darlin', thank you. How are you?" Leonard smiles and Jim chuckles at his side.

Joanna's eyes widen. "Uncle Captain Jim! You're here!"

"That I am kiddo! I gotta go soon, but I wanted to say hello."

"That's fine Uncle Jim, you gotta go be a Captain," she says. "Is Spock there too? I wanna tell him what we did in my chemistry class last week!"

"He's coming darlin', he just got off shift. And you," he turns to Jim, "should get going."

"Oh come on, Bones! But I just got here! and I couldn't even talk to my favourite niece!"

"She's your only niece."

"Don't be grumpy Daddy! Let him stay!"

"Yeah Bones, don't be grumpy."

Leonard shakes his head. "I never should've let you meet Christine. Never should've let you meet Jim either..."

"Don't be like that Bones, you love us!" Jim and Joanna laugh.

"Yeah Daddy, you love us. Besides, it's your birthday! Happy birthday Daddy!"

"Thank you darlin', but we already did my birthday when you were here last month, remember?"

"Yeah Daddy, but it wasn't actually your birthday then. Today is."

"Well, thank you darin', but we're still not doin' anythin' today. Now, tell me about school?"

Spock arrives minutes later and joins the conversation, and a few minutes after that Jim takes his leave. Joanna tells them about school and her classes, about her friends, about the chess tournament she signed up for, about leaving the volleyball team and signing up to the handball team trials and about everything else she can think of.

In return, they tell her about the  _ Enterprise, _ about where they've been that week, about some interesting experiments going on in the labs, about the latest stupid injury to visit medbay and about how everyone's been doing in general.

They've been talking for close to an hour when Joanna turns around for a moment before saying, "I gotta go, dinner's ready."

"That's okay darlin'," Leonard nods. "We'll talk again next week. I love you. Say hi to your Momma for me, okay?"

"Okay." She waves. "Goodbye! Love you Daddy! Love you too Spock!" And before anyone can get another word in the connection shuts down.

"Ha, see?" Leonard says. "I told you it wasn't a fluke. She knows what she's saying."

"Leonard..."

"What? She loves you! You're amazing, of course she loves you."

"We've had this conversation before Leonard."

"Yep," he smiles. "But it's my birthday so I can do what I want. So we're gonna put something nice to listen to, have dinner, eat cake, you don't even have to eat chocolate cake if you don't wanna! You can have that Rigelian cake you like, but cake is mandatory. And then we're going to bed early because we're old men who have Alpha shifts in the morning."

Spock raises his eyebrows. "You don't like your birthday."

"Not really, no. But it's a good excuse." He takes Spock's hand. "So, what do you say? Chocolate cake, yes or no?"

Spock smiles instead. "Happy birthday," he says, and he kisses him.

**_The end!_ **

**Author's Note:**

> [Here](https://himbo-kirk.tumblr.com/post/640499983853993984/) is the art by [Basil (himbo-kirk on Tumblr)](https://himbo-kirk.tumblr.com/) once again. Seriously, go check it out, it's amazing and Basil is great <3  
> I want to thank [sciencebluefeelings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sciencebluefeelings) once again <3  
> And finally, thank you everyone so much for reading. Writing this was really fun and I hope you enjoy it. You can find me on tumblr [here](https://thisisnotjuli.tumblr.com) on my main/personal blog and [here](https://fanishjuli.tumblr.com) on my fandoms blog <3


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